The Rise Of Wannabe And Maverick Mobile Workers

Enterprise mobility momentum continues to grow, evidenced by increased corporate support for a broad array of smartphones; expanding support of mobile applications for employees, customers, partners, and suppliers; and enabling access to these solutions across a variety of mobile networks. Even so, Forrester believes many enterprise IT managers, and vendors in the mobility ecosystem are underestimating demand for mobility solutions in the corporate arena. Why? Because they are missing the latent demand that will come from two emerging segments of employees: mobile "wannabes" and mobile "mavericks." Mobile wannabes are often at their desks so IT does not consider them mobile workers, and mobile maverick employees use smartphones for work but go outside of the corporate purchasing process by selecting and purchasing their smartphones and work-related mobile apps on their own. Combined, these two worker segments currently account for 22% of all employees; by 2015, they will grow significantly to 42% of all corporate employees. Vendors in the mobility ecosystem must modify their product road maps to target these mobile worker segments.