CIOs and mobility: Stop reacting, start doing

While organisations are considering a more user centric approach, introducing concepts such as mobility into their business, they are unsure how to approach end user computing, and manage the proliferation of devices and their associated security risks.

This is a key finding of the 2015 Mobile Workforce Report by Dimension Data.

Mobile IT management and mobile applications are top initiatives for 2016, the report shows.

Of those organisations polled, 44% have incorporated enterprise mobility into a broader end-user computing strategy and have budget for end-user computing on multiple devices.

However, overwhelming number of respondents are yet to launch a comprehensive management solution for both phones and tablets (32%) or utilise a siloed approach to manage both PCs and smart devices (31%).

The CIO is the most prominent driver of strategic mobility initiatives within the business, and they remain in a reactive state when it comes to end user computing. At present, 13% have no end-user computing strategy in place.

On average, end user computing is 28% of the IT budget, and this might be deterring CIOs, however findings indicate the investment might be worth it.

According to the research, almost two thirds (61%) of participants are seeing ROI from end-user computing initiatives, with a further (65%) of organisations seeing a competitive advantage from their approach to end-user computing.

When it comes to end-user computing, security is the single top priority among almost half (43%) of respondents, followed by IT Service Management.

Furthermore, while the modern worker expects access to anyone, anytime and anywhere, 82% of organisations stated that a key obstacle facing end-user computing initiatives is protecting company data and providing a good user experience.

Jaco Hattingh, Dimension Data senior vice president for enterprise mobility, says, "It appears that the proliferation of employee-owned mobile devices has placed the IT department in a reactive state when it comes to management and enablement, leaving CIOs unable to respond strategically.

"Nevertheless, it's a vibrant and exciting time for end-user computing as organisations press ahead aggressively.

He says, "The global workspace is changing along with where and how people work and perform their business functions.

"We're seeing a growing number of organisations starting to embrace future forward working styles such as flexible time and ability to work remotely, which includes accessing the corporate network.

Hattingh points out that giving end-users access to information via company portals signals that the right steps towards market maturity are being taken.

"It's all about embracing the new workspace - the workspaces for tomorrow," he says.

According to Hattingh, a 'workspace of tomorrow' is a modern collaborative environment within innovative workspaces and new technology concepts to support flexible ways of working.