Individuals are extremely quick to adopt mobile technology. A Google study shows that five years ago only seven percent of users accessed the Internet from their mobile phones and just six percent used mobile apps. Today, 81 percent access the Internet from their mobile phones and 68 percent use apps. This unprecedented rate of technology adoption has left enterprise IT managers grappling to manage integration, services, data security, optimization of enterprise productivity, and a workforce that demands increasing mobility.

The majority of the mobile workforce uses their devices in the hours-per-day range, and many workers use multiple mobile devices. They use their smartphones as a desktop extension to increase productivity and multiply their reach. Mobile workers say the benefits include staying connected on the road; managing and controlling reports on the go; servicing and maintaining customer accounts on the spot; staying unwired within the enterprise campus; capturing data through RFID integration, voice control and image capturing; and using geo data to locate people, things, and businesses.

Supporting a billion smartphones

 It’s estimated that by 2013, a billion smartphones will be deployed in the global workforce, each running multiples apps, and many enterprise IT departments are grappling with the task of supporting this number of devices and applications in such a short time.

“All of SAP’s customers realize that mobility is an unstoppable revolution that must be adopted in the enterprise,” said Clemens Suter-Crazzolara, program lead for Mobility SAP Industry Solutions. “This puts considerable strain on companies, as the end-users on all levels request more and richer functionality. Yet, IT departments need to control the risks associated with the oncoming flood of mobile apps as well as numerous device types and operating systems.”

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