Best-in-Class Mobile Enterprises Have Nearly Twice the ROI, According to Report

According to a new Aberdeen Group research report, best-in-class companies achieved an average 74 percent return on their investment in mobility, compared to the average of 43 percent for all other firms surveyed. The best-in-class companies considered twice as many factors in their strategies, and 88 percent of them had a documented mobile strategy.

Purchase intent is on a steep incline as well. According to the new report, "Enterprise Mobile Adoption: A Corporate Conundrum," 80 percent expected to purchase new PDAs with wireless access; 60 percent planned to purchase wide-area wireless data cards; and 54 percent planned to purchase new mobile phones for their sales, marketing, and customer service departments. Enterprise users have always had a big economic role in wireless services, said Aberdeen in a release, and as smaller devices with faster processors, better screens, more functional software, and even dual mode (Wi-Fi and cellular) operation come to market, the enterprise market will advance with more users being more mobile than ever before.

The central roadblocks to enterprise mobility are the business case justification, high service cost and lack of internal expertise to support new, unproven technologies. "Clearly, mobility is a rapidly growing frontier for enterprises everywhere," said Philippe Winthrop, director, Aberdeen Group Wireless and Mobility research practice. "Our research shows that those firms with CEO, CFO or CMO support and cross-functional teams responsible for providing guidance for mobile initiatives are the best equipped to address this opportunity."

The report was underwritten by HTC, Sprint, Mobile Armor and Integrated Mobile.