Cloud computing cause of potential jump in mobile use by enterprise
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03/04/2010
By 2014, more than 130 million enterprise users will utilize applications in the mobile cloud, according to Juniper Research. Companies like Google and Microsoft have recognized the trend of cloud expansion and began offering Platform-as-a-Aervice applications.
The increased use of applications on both the iPhone and BlackBerry is largely responsible for the shift as smartphone users can open and reach documents from most Microsoft Office programs on their handhelds rather than having to open them on a desktop or laptop.
As usual, Juniper cites reducing IT costs as primary reason for the shift, but the flexibility mobile applications provide employees is especially attractive for enterprises.
"A cloud-based ecosystem for enterprise apps will be attractive both for developers and enterprises alike. For developers, cloud opens up a far wider potential audience for their products; for enterprise customers, outsourcing application management to a remote third party, costed on a scalable, pay-per-use basis, offers far more flexibility combined with a significant reduction in capital expenditure," Windsor Holden of Juniper wrote in the report.
Enterprises must be especially cautious of potential mobile malware, however. Leading web security professionals believe that the growing use of mobile applications will make smartphones the target of malware attacks.
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