Research reveals how to make mobility work best for your business

It’s essential for businesses today to use technology to solve problems and become more efficient. Of course, this kind of digital transformation doesn’t happen overnight. There are lots of new tools to explore to help move your business forward. If you’re managing user devices, you know that finding the right balance of empowering users and protecting the business is essential.

And according to research firm IDC, the mobility enabled by cloud-native tools and devices like Android is a key way businesses can address the challenges they face in a fast-paced tech world—namely security, compatibility, and device capabilities. Mobility generally, and Android in particular, has the potential to help teams collaborate across devices and work in new ways. IDC recently published new research, sponsored by Google, that describes how organizations can take advantage of business solutions, platform security, customizable hardware options, and user-friendly management and deployment capabilities to best equip their teams for success.

In its series of whitepapers that make up the research, IDC identified the three most important considerations when choosing the right mobility solution: security, solution breadth, and a good experience for IT and end users. IDC also found that Android performed well in all of these categories.

Flexibility and security for the cloud worker era
Cloud workers—a growing workforce segment, made up of those who work an average of 4.6 hours a day in browser-based business apps across multiple devices—depend on the ability to work across devices and with colleagues and customers without tech barriers. With more data than ever generated and shared through cloud and other enterprise systems, these workers require real-time access to the right information.

In its research, IDC found that Android is a strategic mobility platform that can address these needs, with our secure mobile OS, ecosystem of OEM and software partners, and underlying management capabilities. In addition, the research found that Chrome and G Suite also fit the bill for these business needs, and can create the path for a business to solve problems and work quickly at scale in new and innovative ways.

Here’s a deeper look at each of the digital transformation pillars IDC researched.

Security
Security remains both a top concern and potential barrier to mobile deployments, according to this mobility research. Business IT teams face challenges with compliance, mitigating issues from lost and stolen devices, and combatting unauthorized access to sensitive data. Whether issuing devices or trusting employees to use their own in the workplace, security concerns are always there.

In its report, IDC found that “The idea that a company’s most sensitive data and systems are a few finger-taps away is a concern for many IT security and risk professionals. This is why mobility in general comes up as a top security challenge, and makes IT decision-makers skittish about the technology.”

Android’s layered defense strategies and continuous innovation help to keep business data secure and accessible whenever your team needs it. Backed by the expert teams at Google, security and privacy are a top priority for Android, enabling businesses to work seamlessly in the cloud.

Android’s multilayered approach to security uses hardware and software protections, and is backed by the built-in malware defense of Google Play Protect. By being open, Android benefits from the shared knowledge of the wider security community, earning third-party validation for its robust enterprise security features.

Solution breadth
Along with security challenges, business IT teams are also exploring which mobile devices to deploy to users, who need to connect easily and quickly to get work done without running into operating system or other compatibility issues. Device choice isn’t one-size-fits-all, and users’ needs vary. For mobile deployments to work, businesses have to be able to address the security, manageability and pricing challenges. Platform and ecosystem flexibility, including device choice, will power these users’ success.

For enterprise success, a platform must offer a diverse range of mobile device types, price points and apps that address a variety of use cases. With the variety of Android device options, teams can build custom solutions on hardware that suits their needs.

Many organizations are turning to Android Enterprise Recommended to choose devices and services with confidence. We validate devices and the enterprise mobility management and managed service providers to make sure they meet an elevated set of standards for enterprise users.

IDC notes in its research that a rising use case for enterprise needs is dedicated mobile devices. These are fully managed by the enterprise, and used in customer settings like kiosks or digital signage, or for employees handling inventory management or logistics. Two-thirds of enterprises have dedicated devices in use, with Android growing fastest in the market. This is particularly the case with rugged devices, which are growing at five times the market rate of mobile devices generally, according to IDC.

The diversity in device types and price points offered by Android give organizations flexibility, so you can match the appropriate device for each use case.

IT and user experience
A major challenge that IT departments often face is striking the right balance between security and granting employees flexibility in how they use their devices. This tension is especially evident with mobile devices, as many workers want leeway when using personal devices for work.

Android is uniquely positioned to strike this balance with our work profile capability, which separates personal and corporate data on a device. This ensures strong security safeguards and controls for company data and apps while giving users privacy for how they use personal apps on the device.

Dive deeper into IDC insights
This IDC research has plenty more detail on how enterprise mobility paired with cloud-enabled solutions can boost businesses in today’s competitive landscape. Explore the findings and learn more about how a mobile, connected workforce can deliver on digital transformation.