Mobile ERP Likely to Come to an Office Near You, Says McAFee Research

According to research from McAfee’s Trust Digital team, about 75% of IT executives plan to make internal business applications accessible by mobile device in the oncoming year. Further, 57% of survey participants said they will extend remote mobile access beyond email to CRM, ERP, and other proprietary applications. 45% will have device support for the iPhone and Android by popular request from employees, though BlackBerry support has been most prevalent in the past.

The Trust Digital survey was conducted with 150 large U.S. companies to find out how senior IT management executives plan to utilize mobile devices as a part of IT infrastructure within the next year.

The looming tidal wave of smartphone devices – Android, iPhones, iPads, and other technological tomfoolery – will hit workplaces very soon, and organizations have to prepare for it, concludes McAfee. “Heterogeneity is real and enterprises are saying, ‘I have to learn to deal with it,’” says David Goldschlag, vice president of mobile technologies at McAfee.

Additionally, the survey indicated a shift from using corporate-supplied technology to enabling employees’ personal devices. About a third of respondents reported a desire to make this change to personal smartphones. Most organizations view employee smartphone use as a cost-saver, but the issue is making the devices secure and compliant with enterprise infrastructure.

Still, by all appearances, mobile ERP looks like the inevitable future. In the contemporary business, especially over a global market, workplace mobility is crucial. More employees over a larger work cycle can be utilized through telecommuting. With a mobile device connected to CRM or ERP data, critical sales or customer information can be available while on the go. These advantages are converging with a consumer mania of smart devices that will eventually bleed into the workplace. Providing mobile ERP access as a standard practice cannot be too far off.

Tags: mcafee, mobile ERP