Enterprises 'immature' around end-user mobile computing

A new report from Dimension Data has revealed large organisations are not acting strategically when to comes to planning end-user computing initiatives, labelling them as immature.

"That's because they're unsure of how to approach the concept of end-user computing as a cohesive strategy, and manage the proliferation of devices and their associated security risks," the company explains in a statement.

It says organisations around the globe are considering a more user-centric approach by introducing mobility concepts into their organisation.

Dimension Data undertook new research in order to understand the challenges that CIOs are facing when it comes to adopting a user centric approach to doing business, and provide insights into strategies and habits influencing end-user computing, resulting in the 2015 Mobile Workforce Report.

According to the report, of those organisations polled, 44% have incorporated enterprise mobility into a broader end-user computing strategy and have budget for end-user computing on multiple devices, while 13% have no end-user computing strategy in place.

On average, end-user computing is 28% of the IT budget, the report shows.

The research indicates that almost two thirds (61%) of participants indicated that they are seeing ROI from end-user computing initiatives, with a further (65%) of organisations are seeing competitive advantage from their approach to end-user computing.

"The global workspace is changing along with where and how people work and perform their business functions," says Jaco Hattingh, senior vice president for Enterprise Mobility at Dimension Data.

"We're seeing a growing number of organisations starting to embrace future forward working styles such as flexible time and ability to work remotely, which includes accessing the corporate network," he says.


Hattingh points out that giving end-users access to information via company portals signals that the right steps towards market maturity are being taken. "It's all about embracing the new workspace - the workspaces for tomorrow," he adds

Hattingh explains workspaces for tomorrow is a workplace strategy with the aim of empowering individuals to choose different kinds of work settings that suit various types of activities, with a goal to provide a modern collaborative environment within innovative workspaces and new technology concepts to support flexible ways of working.

Other highlights in the 2015 Mobile Workforce Report include:

• Mobile IT management and Mobile Applications are top initiatives for 2016
• An overwhelming number of respondents do not have a comprehensive management solution for both phones and tablets (32%) or utilise a siloed approach to manage both PCs and smart devices (31%)
• As expected, security is the single top priority component of EUC among almost half (43%) of respondents, followed by IT Service Management
• The CIO is the most prominent driver of strategic mobility initiatives within the business. However, they remain in a reactive state when it comes to end user computing, and are struggling to act strategically.

Meanwhile while the modern worker expects access to anyone, anytime and anywhere, with 82% of organisations stating that a key obstacle facing end-user computing initiatives is protecting company data and providing a good user experience.

"It appears that the proliferation of employee-owned mobile devices has placed the IT department in a reactive state when it comes to management and enablement, leaving CIOs unable to respond strategically," Hattingh says.

"Nevertheless, it's a vibrant and exciting time for end-user computing as organisations press ahead aggressively.