When conversations surrounding enterprise mobility crop up, a lot of focus is given to mobile workers. Discussions about trends like bring-your-own-device also tend to generate debate over whether companies can secure their data, but recent research suggests that those at the top of the corporate ladder have also been bringing gadgets to work to replace the traditional office computer. Published by CEO.com, an infographic showcased technology that CEOs cited as "essential," including:
• 84.8 percent use a smartphone
• 82.6 percent said laptops
• 78 percent use a tablet
• 33 percent utilize cloud storage services
The research also found a rapid proliferation in iPads in the small business space. While only 9 percent of SMB CEOs had iPads in 2010, that jumped to 34 percent in 2011.
Applications and cloud storage
Another trend the infographic showcased is the rise of certain mobile apps among executives. Expensify found its place as the top-ranking app that CEOs "can't live without," while Evernote and projet management features from Omnifocus were also highly valued. The rise of web-based applications and increasing interoperability between platforms is likely to increase cloud storage demand. As Anand Dass, co-founder of Filepicker, recently pointed out in a Wired article, ease-of-use plays a drastic role in how much content cloud users are willing to upload.
When fitness social networking site Fitocracy first launched an embedded images feature, it allowed users to copy image URLs from Facebook and paste them as a Fitocracy status update. According to Dass, users found this process overly time consuming. When the social network simply included an "add photo" button, engagement rates increased tenfold.
