28% Of Businesses Lack Mobile Strategy Despite Regarding It As “Fourth Utility”

Mobility is classed as the “fourth utility” by most mid-market companies despite over 25 per cent stating that there is a distinct lack of strategy where the vertical is concerned.

Related: Managing the 21st century workforce: How mobility is transforming the enterprise

Research undertaken by Intrinsic found that 28 per cent of mid-market firms lack a mobile strategy and this was despite 92 per cent stating that mobile devices and apps, voice and video conferencing, and cloud computing are now seen as the fourth utility in business alongside electricity, gas and water.

“The bottom line is that a mobile strategy is now business-critical for almost all mid-sized UK organisations. To remain competitive, these businesses need to implement a strategic programme that enables or increases the ability for employees to work flexibly, securely, more collaboratively and more productively through the use of technology,” stated Darron Antill, CEO of Intrinsic.

It doesn’t get any better when contingency plans come into the equation, 46 per cent admitting there is no plan for the loss of mobile devices, 35 per cent having nothing when communications software is lost and 30 per cent with no plan when Internet access is lost.

47 per cent cited agility as the top driver of the increased use of mobiles in the workplace followed by 46 per cent stating that both workforce demands and the ability work remotely more simply was a reason for the increased uptake of mobile technologies.

Mobile technology is one of the top three IT priorities for firms in 2014, 70 per cent ranking it as one of the top three alongside security solutions [70 per cent] and cloud solutions [48 per cent].

Related: How mobility is disrupting traditional business models

The study was undertaken earlier this year by Intrinsic and looked at the approaches and attitudes to mobility among 200 IT decision makers at mid-sized firms [defined as having between 250 and 1,000 employees].