SOTI Global Report finds more than half (57%) of enterprises have invested in mobile technology or mobile security in the last year; but 56% admit their mobile technology is either only partially integrated or not at all

Solihull, UK – 28 September 2021 – Poor integration is threatening businesses’ potential in a defining year for enterprise mobility, a new global research report from SOTI has found. More than half (57%) of global enterprises have invested in mobile technology or mobile security in the last year, and more than two-thirds (67%) said the mobile technology their organisation had invested in had provided a positive return on investment (ROI).

However, SOTI’s A Defining Year: State of Mobility 2021 Report found that 56% of enterprise leaders admit their technology is either only partially integrated or not at all which is holding their businesses back. The year 2021 has seen a mobility revolution, driving business growth and becoming a necessity to business continuity in the face of lockdowns and social distancing. The GSMA predicts that mobile operators will invest $900 billion USD between 2020 and 2025 worldwide in upgrading their services to meet ballooning demand for mobile connections and technology.

SOTI’s global research has sought to understand the impact of mobile technology over the last year as well as how organisations can position themselves at the forefront of the post-pandemic mobile revolution. 1,400 business leaders were interviewed from enterprises in eight countries across three continents, including the UK.

Mobile Technology Investment in 2021: Seizing Opportunity or Just Surviving?

More than three quarters (79%) of enterprise leaders agree their organisation’s C-Suite realises the importance of mobile tech much more now than before the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, indicating that it’s climbed up the boardroom agenda.

But, it hasn’t all been smooth sailing. More than half (56%) said that their organisation’s portfolio of mobile devices has grown, but managing the increased number of devices is proving difficult, indicating these businesses might not have the right device management technology in place – or they have nothing at all. In fact, many existing tools don’t adequately help organisations troubleshoot device issues or help to manage the devices. This leads to increased downtime, a loss in productivity and likely a loss in revenue as well.

Meanwhile, 45% say that their organisation is not using mobile technology to help it adjust well to the challenges of the post-pandemic marketplace. The challenge for these companies is to fully integrate mobile technology into their core workflows to capitalise on the technology’s potential to provide flexibility and intelligence across the whole enterprise.

The scope of this challenge is revealed in the answers given about aspirations and goals for the near future. More than two-thirds (68%) agree that their company needs better business intelligence to navigate future unforeseen issues. Two-thirds (67%) also think they need better tools to diagnose issues before they become a problem. Almost half (43%) would like to improve their ability to monitor data analytics.

Planning For a Post-Pandemic Marketplace

The pandemic, lockdown and subsequent changes in consumer behaviour have accelerated the digital transformation of business by up to six years. Businesses are faced with the prospect of a post-pandemic marketplace that is more fluid, more digital, more dynamic and marked by a rise in consumer demands.

The mobility revolution has scaled rapidly across all areas of businesses as they train for, adapt to, rollout and manage enterprise mobility. To prevent growing pains and ensure maximum uptime and productivity, as well as the best user experience, enterprises need to integrate and manage multiple form factors, operating systems and legacy systems. This is echoed in the findings, with enterprise leaders saying their companies need the following post-pandemic:

Looking Towards the Future

In the immediate future, the recent pace of change looks like it will continue. Over the next 12 months, more than two-thirds (71%) of organisations are considering increasing their expenditure in mobile devices, systems and/or security, while more than half (56%) of organisations are considering increasing their expenditure on technology for better device and system integration and/or replacing legacy systems.

Sarah Edge, Director of Sales, UK and Ireland at SOTI, comments: “Around the world, mobile and Internet connected technologies have become even more integral to the way we live and do business than before the pandemic. For enterprises, this has presented both a challenge and an opportunity. The challenge is to meet these changing customer expectations and adapt to an increasingly volatile socio-economic climate with the right technologies and the right customer experiences, at the same time as preparing for the future.

“Change and disruption also brings opportunity for those who can see mobility as an enabler, rather than an obstacle,” continues Edge. “These findings indicate that there’s still significant efficiency and cost gains to be made from better integration of these technologies into workflows, employee practices and the customer experience.”

A Defining Year: State of Mobility 2021 Report can be downloaded here.

Report Methodology

1,400 interviews were conducted using an online methodology amongst IT decision-makers (Managers, Directors, Senior Management and C-Suite) working in any vertical in companies with 50 or more global employees across eight countries. All respondents are aged 18 and over. Fieldwork was conducted from July 22 to August 4, 2021.

Interviews with respondents were split across eight international markets as follows: USA (300 interviews), Canada (130 interviews), Mexico (150 respondents), UK (300 interviews), Germany (170 interviews), Sweden (100 interviews), France (150 respondents) and Australia (100 interviews).

About SOTI

SOTI is the world’s most trusted provider of mobile and IoT management solutions, with more than 17,000 enterprise customers and millions of devices managed worldwide. SOTI’s innovative portfolio of solutions and services provide the tools organisations need to truly mobilise their operations and optimise their mobility investments. SOTI extends secure mobility management to provide an integrated solution to manage and secure all mobile devices and connected peripherals in an organisation.