|
19th July 2004 - Earlier this year, In-Stat/MDR (http://www.instat.com)
surveyed 339 decision-makers (e.g., IT Managers) and
587 decision-influencers (e.g., department and division
heads) at medium and large businesses (with 100 or more
employees) to determine how they work together to implement
wireless data solutions, including services, applications
and access equipment. It appears that there is much
interaction between the two groups, and the decision-making
process varies considerably by company size.
Some of the key findings of the research include:
- Wireless data is becoming more important at companies
- about 20% of IT budgets are dedicated to wireless
data, which was defined as including wireless LAN
and WAN equipment and services. Funding for wireless
data implementation does not always come from the
IT department - about half of the time, the budget
comes from the division or department's budget. Therefore,
just looking at the percentage of the IT budget allocated
to wireless data does not provide an accurate picture
as to the total spending on wireless data in the organization
- it is larger than it initially appears.
- About half of mid-size and large enterprises use
wireless data today and another 30% are planning/evaluating
future use. Three-quarters of current wireless WAN
data users plan to increase their usage in the future.
- A great deal of wireless data has come in through
the "back-door," with employees bringing
in solutions on their own. This means that wireless
data solution providers need to take a three-pronged
marketing and sales approach. They must reach end-users
to capture the "back-door" sales, division/department
heads to help them visualize and articulate the need
and sometimes select providers, and IT managers, who
will often select the actual equipment and service
providers, implement and support the solution.
- About two-thirds of decision-influencers say that
they plan to acquire new devices as part of their
solution, showing that there is a great opportunity
for access device sales as part of any new solution
implementation.
- Common wireless data applications include e-mail,
access to the Web, and to spreadsheets and word processing
documents. Future applications include instant messaging
and Web-based applications. Applications accessed
vary by device type.
- Various types of solutions providers are in demand:
wireless and wireline carriers, IT hardware (e.g.,
HP, IBM) and network equipment (e.g., Cisco and 3COM)
providers top the list. Planners anticipate using
IT hardware providers as key suppliers far more than
current users ever did. Wireless and wireline carriers
are also preferred to provide other services such
as technical support and consulting. There is also
significant opportunity for many managed services
(e.g., wireline remote access services, network management).
- There is moderate interest in wireless VoIP applications.
Back
to News Reports
|
