If you follow the news about mobile technology, you've read a lot about hardware, and about topics such as the wars between iOS and Android. But the truth is, when it comes to mobility, it's not about the hardware. What's really important are the apps. And so you'd do well to know what kinds of mobile apps are most popular, and what types will be important in the future. Earlier this year, a Forrester report, The State Of Enterprise Mobile Security, Q1 2014: Strategies Shift From Devices To Apps, made it clear that for businesses, interest in apps trumps interest in hardware. The report concluded: "At the end of the day, we may talk about mobile devices, but in reality it's all about the apps." In fact, the report found, apps are so important that employees are willing to pay for them with their own money if the apps will help them do their jobs better. The report found "Over 46% of people who use a tablet for work and 32% of people who use a smartphone for work purchased at least one out-of-pocket business application."
The App Popularity Contest
Just knowing that apps are important only goes so far, though. Even more important is knowing what apps are vital for enterprises. And the Good Technology Mobility Index Report for the second quarter of the year provides details about that. The report, based on device and app usage among Good Technology's more than 5,000 business customers, found that document editing apps are the most-used enterprise apps, followed by secure instant messaging apps, and custom apps. Custom apps have been growing at an extremely fast rate, growing 25% from the first to second quarters. Business intelligence is clearly an up-and-comer, with an astonishing rate of growth of 200% from the first to second quarters. Overall, enterprise app activations increased 20% from the first quarter to the second. As for hardware, the report found that iOS continues to dominate enterprises, with 67% of all device activations in enterprises. Android had 32%, and Windows Phone had a barely measurable 1%. Note that Good Technology doesn't handle Blackberry, so its numbers aren't included in the report.
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