Mobile devices deemed as crucial business tools

CEBU, Philippines - In the age of globalization and the advancement of technology, a latest survey showed that the Philippine entrepreneurial sector highly adopts mobile devices as critical business tools at the workplace to go along with the global trends.

Symantec Corporation, a global leader in providing security, storage and systems management solutions, recently announced the findings of its 2012 State of Mobility Survey focusing on the uptake in mobile applications across business organizations in the country.

Participated by 6275 global organizations and 43 countries in North America, EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa), Asia Pacific, Japan and Latin America, 150 companies from the Philippines responded to the survey conducted by Applied Research from August-November 2011.

The survey showed that 72% of enterprises are planning to use custom mobile applications and 20% are currently implementing or have already implemented such.Most common applications used are electronic mail, instant messaging, contacts, web browsers and office applications through handheld devices such as Blackberry Smartphone, iPhone, Android, iTouch and other similar devices.

From a security perspective, Symantec Philippines Senior Country Manager Luichi Robles said that majority of organizations in the Philippines are thinking beyond the simple case of lost or stolen mobile phones, but rather looking into implementing security measures to keep their corporate information safe.

He added that the high adoption of such organizations as they embrace mobile devices in the workplace, whether large enterprises or small and medium businesses, is impressive since it underlines a mature business environment.

“We are seeing a cultural shift and rapid adoption in mobile devices among organizations in the Philippines – from refusing mobile devices not long ago to actively distributing and developing mobile applications today. This has introduced a new set of challenges and complexities for IT staff,” Robles said.

However, 56% of survey respondents in the Philippines described mobility as somewhat extremely challenging while 45% of which identified mobile devices as one of their top three IT risks.

Christina Tee, technical consultant for Symantec Philippines said that many organizations in the Philippines are taking the necessary measures to mitigate potential losses.

She added that ensuring adoption of best practices and investments toward a comprehensive security framework can also ensure that mobile computing’s benefits far outweigh its challenges.

Top costs cited in the findings include direct financial costs, loss of productivity, loss of customer trust, damaged brand reputation and loss of organization, customer and employee data. It has also been reported that the average annual cost on losses due to mobility-related security issues in the Philippines is US $80,000.

To improve the effectiveness of mobile initiatives for business processes and productivity gains, Symantec provided key recommendations such as development of a phased approach, strategic thinking, efficient management, appropriate enforcement and comprehensive security.

In the midst of mobility adoption towards work, information and technology is striking a balance between mobile benefits and risks by transforming its approach to deliver improved business agility, increased productivity and workforce effectiveness. (FREEMAN)