From answering emails in bed, to reviewing proposals on the plane, or logging on from your personal laptop to get a little work done – we’re constantly connected thanks to our plethora of devices.  

This digital revolution has done wonders for productivity, but only if organizations can find a way to manage and secure all these new devices.  

The survey says…

In a survey of more than 100 IT directors, Enterprise Management Associates discovered that nearly half of all business professionals use a mobile device in addition to their PC to perform tasks during the workday. Desktops and laptops are the preferred tools of the trade, but EMA says mobile devices are becoming more popular when it comes to taking on some of those business-related tasks.  

Advances in mobile technology have made it easier and more convenient for business professionals to stay ‘plugged in’ while on the go. This trend has forced IT teams to find ways to manage and support these devices in the name of productivity.  

It used to be easy

A decade ago, Windows was the go-to platform in the office. Apple and Android have since changed the landscape, especially in the mobile device market, but Microsoft is keeping pace thanks in part to its newest multi-platform OS. According to EMA, Windows 10 tablets are luring users away from Android and are considered an attractive option for companies who are looking to provide their workforce with mobile devices.  

In addition to PCs running Windows 10, IT teams are now having to support more Chromebooks and Macs. EMA research shows the enterprise use of computers running macOS has doubled since 2015.  

Multi-device challenges

This recent influx of devices is both good and bad for organizations. On one hand, employees are now more productive and accessible than ever. But it only works of IT teams can support all these new devices. According to EMA, IT departments are now supporting a minimum of four different operating environments. EMA lists this as one of the top challenges in supporting user productivity: 

  • Ensuring data security 
  • Supporting multi-device architectures 
  • Reducing the cost of IT management 
  • Delivering common apps to a broad range of device types 
  • Working with multiple independent management solutions 

EMA points out that the other two leading challenges on this list are also related to multi-device support requirements.  

An Apple a day

Apple’s mobile devices are popular with users, but they can be a challenge for IT teams to manage. Nearly a quarter (24%) of the IT directors EMA surveyed indicated that supporting macOS and iOS platforms was “very critical” to the success of the business. EMA research shows that figure will increase to 41% in the next two years.  

IT teams might groan over that last statistic. EMA’s poll of IT directors revealed that many IT teams already supporting Apple devices reported a greater-than-average difficulty in performing related management practices, especially when it comes to processes for predefining configuration for the Apple Device Enrollment Program and deploying applications and patches to macOS endpoints. 

See what else EMA discovered when they reached out to more than 100 IT directors. Click below to download the full report.  

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