Two Thirds of Firms Don't Have a Proper Mobility Strategy: Report

Almost two-thirds of firms have no enterprise-wide mobility strategy, despite the widespread prevalence of staff unofficially using their own devices, according to a poll.

The poll, gathered at a mobility webinar by Software AG, found that 60 percent of companies had no mobility strategy. It revealed that 38 percent of those surveyed are yet to consider their strategy, while 22 percent have only just begun "initial research".

Of those companies that have developed a mobile strategy, 15 percent have fully deployed them in their firms, while a further 25 percent said that policies were already developed but only partly implemented.

Regarding BYOD, 73 percent of respondents confirmed their organisations already have or plan to introduce such a programme.

John Chasey, director of mobile at Software AG, the business process optimisation firm, said: "Actual movement in the BYOD direction may be even more advanced."

He said Software AG's findings reinforced those of an earlier Symantec survey, where 60 percent of businesses confirmed they had a BYOD policy in place, yet more than 90 percent of employees reported they could use their own devices at work. "These findings highlight an expectation gap which must be bridged rapidly," Chasey said.

To cope with BYOD, Chasey said firms should use "develop once only" technologies that can be deployed rapidly and flexibly on any mobile device.