Deliver Your News to the World

Canadian Executives Confirm Desire to Implement Mobile IP Technologies


WEBWIRE

Sixty per cent of Canadian executives report extensive use of mobile technologies today

San Antonio, Texas,-Toronto — AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) announced today that Canadian executives are on par with their global counterparts when it comes to integrating mobile technologies onto an IP network. Seventy-three per cent of Canadian businesses expect to migrate mobile and voice data to a convergent IP network by next year compared to 72 per cent of global executives, according to a global survey conducted by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) for AT&T.

According to the survey, Canadians indicated that the cost of acquiring and deploying mobile technology is the biggest obstacle to implementation (reported by 43 per cent of the respondents). In addition, only 45 per cent of Canadian executives have outlined a clear strategy to achieve mobile IP integration compared to 76 per cent of US executives.

The global survey of 395 senior executives reveals that mobile use is most extensive among senior management in Europe (91 per cent), while in Canada the figure is currently 60 per cent). By 2010, the business use of cell phones and other mobile devices in Canada by management and sales staff will increase to 87 and 79 per cent respectively, and is expected to escalate among administrative, marketing and IT staff.

The research shows that in all regions increased workforce productivity is viewed as the key benefit of mobility. But in Canada, executives also recognize a broad range of other advantages, from improving customer service and reducing operational and infrastructure costs, to supporting remote teams.

While enterprise mobility promises significant gains in employee productivity, it also poses tricky network and employee management challenges. Some companies are also struggling to integrate mobile applications with the existing IT infrastructure, and security needs to be tightened, with far more corporate data circulating beyond the boundaries of the workplace. To complicate matters further, informal knowledge sharing between remote workers must be maintained, as employees congregate less often.

Executives at most companies are seeking to establish a balance. Priority must be given to protecting corporate data, but too strict a regime will stifle productivity gains. The combination of mobile voice and data applications with IP convergence means a considerable expansion in the reach of the enterprise and its workforce. As the survey reveals, enterprise tools are the wireless data applications that will expand the most within corporate networks over the next three years. In Canada, these include customer relationship management applications and sales force and field force automation applications. While only modestly deployed at the moment, within three years they will both have penetrated 48 per cent of firms, respectively.

“The integration of mobile applications into the IP network is the next step on the pathway to convergence,” said Steve Taylor, vice president sales, AT&T Global Services Canada. “The push towards wireless/wireline integration is driven by the need to provide a unified customer experience across multiple networks. The key to success is a comprehensive integration strategy.”

The full results of the survey are published by AT&T in a white paper entitled ’Enterprise IP Goes Mobile’, written using research conducted by the EIU. Copies of the white paper can be downloaded from the AT&T Web site at: http://www.corp.att.com/emea/insights/whitepaper/mobility_series4.html.

Other white papers from AT&T and the EIU in this series are available at: http://www.corp.att.com/emea/insights/whitepaper/.



WebWireID43316





This news content was configured by WebWire editorial staff. Linking is permitted.

News Release Distribution and Press Release Distribution Services Provided by WebWire.