Increased demand for mobile devices and apps for work signals end of traditional PC era
Mobile devices are on the verge of killing the PC in the workspace, according to a new report.
The growth of bring your own device (BYOD) and mobile device usage in general are driving a shift in the way employees expect and demand IT services to be delivered.
The study has found that 60% of UK respondents claim their employees are demanding more business-level apps, which they can install on mobile devices to access corporate IT systems, according to by Rackspace Hosting, open cloud firm.
It also shows that over three quarters (77%) of businesses think that mobile software applications and services will soon become the standard means through which employees access IT systems for work purposes. The growing popularity of mobile devices and BYOD schemes is the driving force behind employee demand for business apps and this also signals that the PC era may be coming to an end. A recent IDC study found that PC shipments fell 14% over the January to March period in 2013, marking a total of two quarters of significant decline.
IDC claims this is directly related to the focus on tablet computers and smartphones in both consumer and corporate purchasing, with these devices being favoured over traditional computers. According to another IDC report, mobile technologies will account for nearly 57% of the IT industry's overall growth in 2013. The Rackspace study showed that 55% of respondents say they will invest more heavily in new business apps over the next year. The key focus areas for businesses developing corporate apps are document management (60%), diary management (44%), customer relationship management (44%) and expenses management (39%). Additionally, 21% of respondents have plans to develop their own dedicated corporate app store to more tightly distribute and manage business applications. 'This increased focus on enterprise apps and mobility makes it imperative that CIO's transition workloads to the cloud so employees can access corporate data from any device, irrespective of geographical location,' said John Engates, Rackspace CTO.
He added that Rackspace has invested in a mobile-ready stack that reduces configuration time for developers, allowing them to focus on designing applications while Rackspace manages the backend operations. Engates claimed that will help businesses to speed up the development cycle and progress their mobility and app strategy in line with employee demands. The Rackspace research forms the third part of a 'Cloud Computing: State of Play' report in collaboration with Manchester Business School and Vanson Bourne.
