Enterprise Mobility trends and developments

Mobile devices are as common in the workplace as they are in our daily life. The increased adoption of devices and applications in the business world, though, is leading to more complicated management systems, a higher number of security incidents, and concerns regarding privacy. Let’s take a look at some of the most interesting Enterprise Mobility trends for this year.

BYOD vs Employer Provided Device (EPD)

As businesses strive to cut expenses, the BYOD model facilitates employee engagement and eliminates the cost of supplying personnel with smartphones, tablets, and laptops at the expense of the company.
With BYOD models, IT departments install the required business apps to the personnel’s personal devices. In this way, users retain the freedom to choose their device and safeguard their privacy, while employers maintain control over business data and software.

The development of business-specific applications is also on the rise. Corporate usage of generic applications is becoming a thing of the past. Today, businesses focus on creating an ecosystem of customized mobile applications that streamline workflows and drive efficiency.

Another model developed by businesses to accommodate an enterprise mobility strategy is EPD (Employer Provided Device). Based on the BYOD model, EPD – also known as “Corporate Owned, Personally Enabled” (COPE) model – pertains to businesses that provide their employees with mobile devices, either exclusively or partly.

5G και Wi-Fi edition 6 networks

5G networks offer great speed and more reliable connections. Soon, 5G standards will be widely adopted and used in various industries. 5G promises increased data rates (up to 10Gbps), low latency (approximately 1 ms), improved connectivity, and 90% reduction in energy consumption compared to 4G.

Although the adoption of 5G networks is expected to be slow, businesses should start preparing for it now. Analysts offer no predictions about new specific applications that business may come up with for 5G, but stable broadband wireless connection is a competitive advantage.

Another driving force behind enterprise mobility trends for 2023 is the introduction of Wi-Fi edition 6 (802.11ax). This new standard will increase network speed, optimize battery life, and improve performance in busy areas, such as offices.

Better and faster Internet connectivity supports enterprise mobility tools, such as videoconference platforms, cloud-based systems for file storage and online collaboration tools. With 5G and Wi-Fi 6, it is certain that remote work can be done at greater speed, even when employees are not connected to a corporate network.

Internet of Things

IoT is a system of interconnected devices with unique identifiers (UID) that can transfer data over a network without requiring any human-to-human or human-to-machine interaction. Simply put, IoT is about devices connecting over the Internet to communicate with people, applications or each other.
Thanks to the innovative standards of cellular and wireless network technologies, IoT can continue to develop at a steady pace. In manufacturing, smart cities and healthcare, many challenges and solutions are already dependent on network-connected devices. According to Gartner, the number of network-connected devices in healthcare worldwide will increase to 25 billion by 2024.

Among other applications, IoT data is used to create digital copies of products and processes. This allows businesses to move testing and monitoring into simulation, thus reducing overhead.

Security

Security remains one of the most crucial issues. Having an enterprise mobility strategy increases the risk of exposure and attacks, and therefore requires more stringent security measures. While being transferred, business data is often vulnerable to data breaches or unauthorized access.

Businesses use a wide range of tools to manage these risks, from VPN to endpoint security technologies. In the past, the most common response was Mobile Device Management (MDM) that helped IT control the use of smartphones and tablets in the office. Current EM management trends include a stricter, yet flexible, Mobile Application Management (MAM) approach.