Symantec 2013 State Of Mobility Survey Finds Differences Between Innovative And Traditional Companies

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. – February 19, 2013 – Two distinct types of organizations emerge from Symantec Corp's. (Nasdaq: SYMC) recent 2013 State of Mobility Survey – "Innovators" who readily embrace mobility and "Traditionals" who are reluctant to implement it. Eighty four percent of innovators are moving ahead with mobility, motivated by business drivers, and they are experiencing significant benefits. Traditional organizations are implementing mobility more slowly, largely in response to user demand, and are seeing both fewer costs and benefits.

Click to Tweet: Business drivers motivate innovative companies to pursue mobility: http://bit.ly/159KR1F

"Few issues command the attention of IT today like mobility," said Francis deSouza, president, Products and Services, Symantec. "The difference in attitudes and results between the organizations that actively embrace mobility and those that are reluctant is significant. Organizations taking a proactive approach benefit much more than those that put it off until they eventually find themselves trying to catch up to the competition."

The two groups perceive the benefits and risks of mobility differently. Among innovators, 66% say the benefits are worth the risks, while 74% of traditional businesses feel the risks are not worth it. This is reflected in the rate of mobility adoption, with 50% more employees using smartphones for business among innovators than among traditional organizations. More than half of innovators (55 percent) are also taking control of purchasing phones for employees, compared to 44% of traditionals.

When it comes to the innovators, company involvement doesn't stop with purchasing the phones. They also more often have mobility policies, and they are twice as likely to use technology to enforce their policies (60 percent in the innovators as opposed to 33% among traditionals).

Costs and Benefits

With the innovators taking more advantage of mobility, they are also seeing more costs associated with it. In fact, they averaged twice as many mobile incidents during the last year, such as lost devices and data breaches, leading to consequences such as regulatory fines and lost revenue. The innovators are also experiencing far more benefits, in three key areas:

Increased productivity, speed and agility

Improvements in brand value, customer happiness and overall competitiveness

Happier employees and improved recruiting and retention rates

Most importantly, however, the innovators are experiencing nearly 50% higher revenue growth than traditionals (44 percent vs. 30%). All things considered, businesses perceive net positive results with mobility.

Effective Mobile Implementation

The survey results illustrate the positive impact mobility can have on the business, with the right preparation. The following guidelines can help organizations make the most of their mobile deployment while reducing risks:

Being cautious about mobility is okay. Being resistant is not. Start embracing it. Organizations should take a proactive approach and carefully plan an effective mobile implementation strategy.

Start with the apps with greatest productivity benefits for employees. One of the best ways to get started with mobility is to implement mobile apps that will have an immediate impact on the business.

Learn from the innovators – get the benefits while minimizing the risks. The key is to be aware of the risks associated with mobility such as information loss, and to follow the example of the innovators.

Symantec's 2013 State of Mobility Survey

Symantec's 2013 State of Mobility Survey represents the experiences of 3,236 businesses, from 29 countries. Respondents were the individuals in charge of computing – either senior staff in the case of enterprises, or often an employee with technical aptitude among SMBs. Responses came from companies with a range of five to more than 5,000 employees.

Resources

Report: 2013 State of Mobility Survey Results

Blog Post: Early Adoption of Mobility Pays Off

SlideShare Presentation: 2013 State of Mobility Global Results

Infographic: 2013 State of Mobility Survey

Podcast: 2013 State of Mobility Survey

2013 State of Mobility Survey Press Kit

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About Symantec

Symantec protects the world's information, and is a global leader in security, backup and availability solutions. Our innovative products and services protect people and information in any environment – from the smallest mobile device, to the enterprise data center, to cloud-based systems. Our world-renowned expertise in protecting data, identities and interactions gives our customers confidence in a connected world. More information is available at www.symantec.com or by connecting with Symantec at: go.symantec.com/socialmedia.

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