With 48 percent of respondents outside the U.S., this global survey yielded findings corresponding to three major areas of mobility readiness:
1. Ability to deliver insight through remote application and data center access,
2. Collaboration and enabling of effective communication, and
3. Awareness as to the location and status of key business assets, resources and people.
Top-level results of the Mobility Quotient indicate several pronounced findings. While there is broad adoption of many mobility solutions – Wireless LAN, Telework, Remote Access and Mobile e-mail – deployments are still largely spot applications of technologies.
This is demonstrated through respondents’ answers which show that more than 60 percent of businesses do not have a long-term mobile IT strategy in place. Additionally, data suggests that one of four businesses is potentially out of industry or regulatory compliance, and a majority of businesses have not made plans to connect critical assets to their network.
The Mobility Quotient results point to the strong adoption of mobility solutions today, with respondents reporting production deployments as follows:
- 65 percent with some Wireless LAN
- 55 percent use mobile email
- 40 percent have equipped a majority of their mobile workforce with laptops or smart phones
- 48 percent using IP telephony, and 32 percent with soft phones
Despite broad adoption, many businesses are still struggling with the new security challenges that mobility brings with one out of four respondents reporting different wired and wireless security policies and 60 percent of those surveyed state that they have no means of monitoring radio frequency (RF) threats indicating likely industry regulation compliance issues. Furthermore, a majority of businesses do not have a long-term mobile IT strategy in place, reflecting a reactive approach to date to mobility.
“The findings of the Cisco Mobility Quotient point to both the enormous opportunity and challenge that businesses face with mobility,” said Lynn Lucas, director of mobility solutions, Cisco. “By understanding the market’s current state of mobile readiness, Cisco is in a unique position to help businesses take advantage of mobility for competitive advantage. No other technology provider brings this level of understanding and capability to the market.”