Pundits like to lament about Apple’s lack of enterprise interest, but what they fail to see is that the iPad is absolutely cleaning up at the enterprise level. Good Technology has released some interesting findings from their study on mobile device activations in the enterprise over the course of Q3 2011 (June through September).
But first, who is Good Technology?
In their PR speak, “Good Technology combines award-winning enterprise-grade mobile security and control with an exceptional user experience, allowing enterprise and government employees to connect, communicate, and collaborate on their devices of choice.” Which loosely translates into english as, Good Technology is a company that provides Push email, mobile device management for large companies, and security products for mobile phones. Good Technology provides their expertise to a number of Fortune 500 companies, so they would have a pretty good handle on what’s going on in the industry at the enterprise level.
Some thoughts on the findings from John Herrema, SVP of Corporate Strategy at Good Technology:
This quarter, we saw Android smartphones gain in percentage of total activations … This is likely due to consumers holding back purchases of new iPhones in anticipation of Apple’s latest release (the iPhone 4S)—as our reports indicate, consumers are setting the agenda for enterprise mobility … Looking forward to Q4, 2011, we expect to see the iPhone 4S to be the catalyst for an Apple rally.
Some of their findings
Here are some of the findings from their quarterly study:
- iOS tablets account for over 96 percent of tablet activations in the enterprise, with Android only grabbing 4 percent of the market.
- In total, iOS devices (iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch) account for 70 percent of all activations
- The Financial Industry has three times as many activations during this quarter than any other industry.
One last quick thought: while Android is obviously growing pretty quickly, based on the findings it looks like the enterprise market has a very clear preference for iOS devices. It’s becoming increasingly obvious that people in the employ of these companies want tools they are familiar with not tools that I.T. professionals think provide a better experience. Consumers drive the enterprise whether we like to admit it or not.
