Mobile technology is the fastest growing area of an IT
director's budget, according to analyst firm Gartner, which is
holding its Wireless and Mobile Summit 2005 in London this
week.
The success of devices such as Research In Motion's Blackberry
and the XDA from O2, has stimulated interest in mobile technology
within business and the public sector.
Gartner found the top three technical priorities in 2005 for
European IT directors are business intelligence, security
enhancement and mobile workforce enablement.
By 2008 mobile enablement will be the second highest technology
priority, according to Gartner, with business intelligence
remaining number one and real-time enterprise support technology
becoming the third highest technology priority for CIOs.
Nick Jones, research fellow at Gartner, said, 'Already,
two-thirds of organisations are investing in mobile
enablement.'
He said expenditure in mobile technology was growing faster than
any other part of an IT director's budget.
The challenge for IT directors is where to invest, as most
mobile technologies are driven by the fickle nature of consumer
trends rather than the requirements of corporate IT.
Phone makers tend to target a fashion market rather than
providing a stable platform that businesses can support and connect
into enterprise systems in a secure and manageable way.
Jones said IT directors faced the prospect of having to support
all manner of mobile devices being used within the business, as
employees try to connect their phones or handheld computers into
corporate systems.
Presentations at the event will look at which applications users
should consider making mobile and which suppliers will be
strategic.
Jones said, 'Everyone is experimenting with mobile network
access and e-mail, but these applications do not change the way you
work.' He said businesses can use mobile technology in a more
radical way to drive new business opportunities.
Networks blinkered to business needs
Analyst company Gartner has criticised mobile network operators
for failing to support the ways in which businesses want to use
mobile data services.
Nick Jones, research fellow at Gartner, said, 'Users would love
a flat-rate data service across Europe. But you cannot even get the
same quality of service.'
He said operators wanted to offer higher value services such as
providing SalesForce.com pay-per-use customer relationship
management as part of their mobile service. However, such services
do not represent good value for money because businesses would
normally be using their own CRM system, he added.
Jones warned that the trend among operators to develop content
services such as streaming video and music would inhibit the
evolution of mobile telecoms. 'Mobile operators will fail to become
mobile content providers and this will slow the market.'