Enterprise Wireless Data Again Poised for Takeoff

In 2002, it appeared wireless data was stuck at the gate among enterprises. However, sometime during the past 12 months it was cleared for takeoff. Our 2002 Corporate Wireless Survey showed that enterprises were interested in adopting wireless data; the 2003 survey indicates that large corporations finally are following through on their plans.

According to the Yankee Group's 2003 Corporate Wireless Survey, 37 percent of large enterprises are either piloting (17 percent) or have deployed (20 percent) a wireless wide-area data solution. An additional 14 percent expect to implement such a solution in the next 12 months, and another 14 percent plan to do so within the next 2 years (see Exhibit 1).

Although respondents expect overall telecom spending to remain flat between 2002 and 2003, total telecom spending on wireless has increased from 22 percent to 34 percent in the past year. And 43 percent of wireless spending will be on wireless data, as compared to 31 percent last year.

E-mail access is the leading driver of wireless data adoption, with 84 percent of respondents listing it as one of the driving applications, and 33 percent listing it as the key application driver. Access to custom corporate databases and applications is not as universally viewed as important among enterprises (61 percent list it among the driving applications), but is not far behind as the key driver (27 percent). In fact, among those companies that already have deployed or piloted a wireless data solution, access to e-mail and access to custom corporate applications almost are tied as the key application driver (36 percent and 32 percent, respectively).

Vendor Recommendations

Address the key barriers as identified by our respondents: security and immaturity of technology standards. Vendors need to articulate clearly how security technologies are incorporated into their solutions. Adhering to an open-standards approach is the best way for vendors to alleviate enterprise concerns.