Research from Nokia released today shows that mobile email usage is set to grow 35% in the next 18 months amongst businesses already using mobile phones as enterprises seek to boost competitive advantage from increasingly mobile workforces.
The research polled thousands of small, medium and large European companies which provide mobile telephones to employees and have mobile workers. The European enterprise market is worth billions to handset providers, mobile operators, application developers and resellers, with estimates suggesting business users generate 50 per cent of operator revenues from a user base of around 20 per cent of total mobile handsets (source: Strategy Analytics, 2002).
The Nokia research results showed 39 percent of these companies intended to provide mobile workers with mobile email access within 18 months. Beyond mobile email, 19 per cent of businesses surveyed said they would provide access to company information systems such as company databases and intranets from mobile terminals - a growth rate of 202%.
Distribution, utilities, real estate, manufacturing, financial and professional service industries will experience the most growth in usage, with utilities/agribusiness and the hotel, restaurant and catering industries predicted to have the highest mobile email penetration amongst mobile providing companies within 18 months.
Within each industry, staff in field service, sales, IT, logistics, accounts and senior management roles will be the main users, with at least 40 per cent of those companies which have workers in these jobs set to provide mobile email access.
"Mobile phones are already a vital tool for most businesses. Thirty-five per cent of companies surveyed said that more than half of their employees spend more than eight hours a week out of the office. With more and more workers spending time out of the office, being able to do more business on the move becomes a fundamental productivity requirement and a source of competitive edge," Niklas Savander, Senior Vice President, Business Applications, Nokia Mobile Phones said.
"Mobile email is the first logical data service for business users and for most companies, will be the first application which employees need to access when outside the office. With Nokia's range of business terminals and platforms, companies have a cost effective way of implementing remote access to corporate resources."
Bringing the full power of mobility to enterprises represents a new wave in business communication and a major opportunity for Nokia. By integrating mobile technologies into their infrastructure, enterprises can achieve massive gains in productivity and efficiency. To address this, Nokia has created a new business group, Nokia Enterprise Solutions. The group will provide a diverse handset range as well as security and mobile connectivity solutions specifically tailored for enterprise needs.
"The combination of Nokia's quality business-focused mobile terminals, renowned openness and interoperability, extensive developer support, cutting-edge security technology, and a developing dedicated business channel means Nokia is ideally placed to lead the enterprise mobility market," Mr Savander said.
For more information on Nokia for Business, visit www.nokia.com/business .
Note to editors
All statistics used in this release are from 'The Dawn of Mobile Enterprise' researched by NOP Business, unless stated otherwise.
About Nokia
Nokia is the world leader in mobile communications. Backed by its experience, innovation, user-friendliness and secure solutions, the company has become the leading supplier of mobile phones and a leading supplier of mobile, fixed broadband and IP networks. By adding mobility to the Internet Nokia creates new opportunities for companies and further enriches the daily lives of people. Nokia is a broadly held company with listings on six major exchanges.
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