VDC’s forecast indicates strong growth for mobile professional services as enterprise mobility trends mature and become engrained in daily workflows.
Natick, MA (PRWEB) March 07, 2016
According to a new report by VDC Research, the desire to utilize mobile devices for an increasing range of workflows has brought to light the complexity and challenges that IT must contend with as the range and sophistication of mobile solutions they support continues to expand (click here for more info). The increased usage of mobile devices also has IT departments reconsidering how to best deliver increasingly business-critical mobile IT services. As these trends have become more visible, enterprise mobility vendors have begun to optimize their solutions to be delivered as a managed service.
Professional services firms continue to see mobility becoming a factor in most of their customers' deployment environment; this has created an expanded service opportunity beyond traditional mobile hardware support and break-fix services. VDC Research expects to see a shift to more sophisticated professional services over the next 2-3 years as enterprises focus on “mobile-enabling” their backend and client management infrastructure, which is where much of the major investments are concentrated. Consequently, demand for mobile infrastructure, security, application, and content management services will become more prevalent. One of the most complex requirements in deploying mobile solutions in enterprise settings is integrating with back-end systems and databases. Enterprises developing applications that require tight integration with back-end systems typically find that custom mobile solutions are best suited to their needs; however, even the largest and most sophisticated IT organizations lack the mobile acumen to design, develop, and integrate mobile solutions.
VDC forecasts that the global market for mobile professional services (inclusive of mobile systems design, application development, help desk, maintenance, depot services – repair and replace – hardware configuration, software provisioning, and training) will grow by 9.1% annually through 2019. Systems integration and deployment and maintenance (inclusive of depot services) accounted for 66% of the enterprise mobility professional service market in 2015.
The complexity associated with rollout, support, and management of multi-vendor enterprise-grade mobility solutions presents a clear and attractive market opportunity for professional services firms. These vendors have served as trusted advisers for enterprises worldwide, facilitating technology adoption, implementation, integration, and deployment. Managed mobile services are a natural progression of the infrastructure services these vendors typically offer. VDC’s research also points to increasing interest in mobile managed services with overall mobile devices under management by these service providers eclipsing 15 million units in 2015. Especially for organizations with large deployments of mobile devices supporting frontline workflows or with a broadly distributed geographic profile, the benefits of mobile managed services addressing needs spanning deployment, depot, advanced exchange, application provision, and telecom expense management can be immense.
“As the market for these services evolves, we see new partnership models emerging, especially from hardware OEMs who are keen on expanding their service footprint to offset the ongoing challenges they are encountering with their hardware business”, says Eric Klein, Director of VDC’s Enterprise Mobility and Connected Devices practice. “The complexities associated with mobile implementations are expansive and range from device selection and provisioning to application and security management―for mobile applications to truly become the new face of a business, choosing the right partners is critical, as third parties can reduce the complexity of managing and securing mobile deployments while delivering the level of service required for business-critical deployments.”
About VDC Research:
Founded in 1971, VDC Research provides in-depth insights to technology vendors, end users, and investors across the globe. As a market research and consulting firm, VDC’s coverage of AutoID, enterprise mobility, industrial automation, and IoT and embedded technologies is among the most advanced in the industry, helping our clients make critical decisions with confidence. Offering syndicated reports and custom consultation, our methodologies consistently provide accurate forecasts and unmatched thought leadership for deeply technical markets. Located in Natick, Massachusetts, VDC prides itself on its close personal relationships with clients, delivering an attention to detail and a unique perspective that is second to none.