Enterprises expect to boost mobile-related IT expenses to more than 50 per cent in two year, despite security and integrating remaining top challenges, according to a survey.

The global survey by CIO Strategic Marketing Services and Triangle Publishing Services, titled ‘The Connected Enterpise: Keeping Pace with Mobile Development,’ sponsored by Oracle, was released to better understand the challenges of mobile application development and deployment in the enterprise today and in the future.

It highlighted the critical technology challenges and business opportunities as enterprises embrace both internal and external mobile strategic initiative.

It included as many as 414 IT management executives from around the world, including CIOs, CTOs, senior vice presidents or vice presidents, directors or managers of IT and senior IT professionals.

The survey, although shooing a high commitment to mobility, it also showed little consensus about methods of mobile development and deployment, whether across industries or across geographies.

It also revealed that the preferred method for mobile app development is now internal.

Suhas Uliyar, vice president, Mobile Strategy and Product Management at Oracle, said: “Mobility has been ubiquitous for a while but only 10 per cent of enterprises have an enterprise wide deployment of mobile. Its impact and adoption are gaining importance today. This survey is reassuring in that enterprises see potential for great payoff from making a strong mobile commitment. They are recognising that mobile applications provide a new way to develop and maintain relationships with customers.

“Oracle’s mobile solutions allow organisations to develop, connect and secure their own mobile applications. Our comprehensive mobile strategy simplifies enterprise mobility for any organisation.”

About 93 per cent of respondents cited concern over data loss and other security breaches related to mobile devices with BYOD being a key contributor to this concern.

Organisations are turning more to centralised management rather than relying on users for security, said the survey.

In the next two years, respondents’ said their organisations will be focusing more on device data encryption (10 per cent more than today), centralised updating and troubleshooting (11 per cent more), remote wiping of data (11 per cent more) and lockdown of features (18 per cent more).

The survey revealed that although 29 per cent of IT development time is spent on front-end mobile app development, more than 70 per cent of their time is spent on integration, security, quality assurance testing and design work.

About 35 per cent of midsize and large enterprise organisations update their application portfolio monthly, while an additional 34 percent update their applications quarterly, according to the survey.

More than four-fifths (82 per cent) of respondents expect those rates to increase over the next two years.

Meanwhile, the average IT department spending per device, per employee stood at $157 and is expected to grow to $242 over the next two years, an increase of 54 per cent.

More than 84 per cent of respondents reported that sales and marketing, and customers, were the two stakeholders with the most influence in mobile applications, followed by IT at 82 per cent, it added. - TradeArabia News Service