Page 31 - Managing the Mobile Workforce

10 � mAnAgIng the moBIle workForCe

medium, and large enterprises. IDC research reveals that
more than 1.6 billion people used the public Internet in 2009,
and it predicts a total Internet population of more than 2.2
billion people by 2013.
According to the IDC Worldwide Mobile Worker Popula-
tion Forecast, the U.S. mobile workforce will reach a 75 per-
cent adoption rate of mobility by 2011. The study projects
the existing adoption rate of mobile Internet subscribers to
double by the end of 2013. China is reported to use the public
Internet more than any other country, with 359 million users
in 2009, compared to the United States, with 261 million Inter-
net users in 2009. India is projected to have the fastest Inter-
net growth before 2013, doubling its total user count.
The largest growth in mobile computing is expected to
be in online mobile business applications, corporate e-mail,
and mobile blogs. Unsurprisingly, more than one researcher
believes that paying attention to the “mobile workforce
trend” will be a smart decision for you and your company.
Research shows that consumers are readily using mobile
phones, with subscriptions at 3.9 billion in 2008 and pre-
dicted to reach 5.6 billion by 2013. IDC predicts that by 2013
the worldwide shipments of smartphones will exceed 390
million units shipped. Growing at a compound annual rate of
20.9 percent. Moreover, while 27 million phones had Wi-Fi ca-
pabilities in 2007, the number will reach 400 million by 2012.
3

` A workForCe thAt CAn exeCute
A moBIle BusIness strAtegy

How can you differentiate your workforce from competitors who are
chasing the same competitive advantage? It won’t be accomplished
simply by scooping up the latest technology. Sure, knowing what