Bring-your-own-device (BYOD) – the use of smartphones and other personal mobile devices in the workplace – continues to increase. Yet the percentage of new smartphones purchased by corporations and businesses has been increasing in tandem of late. The “steady increase in corporate purchasing through the first three quarters of 2013 hints that enterprises are already rethinking how far BYOD will be allowed to expand,” according to a new report from Strategy Analytics.
Businesses and business users directly purchased 73 million smartphones in 3Q, a 34% year-over-year increase. More than 35% of 3Q smartphone sales for business purposes were “corporate-liable,” up from 32% in 3Q 2012 and 31% in 1Q this year, “a significant jump considering the steady growth of BYOD volume and the expectations that the trend would go in the exact opposite direction,” Strategy Analytics states in a press release.
North America has been at the leading edge of BYOD adoption: the percentage of new business smartphone sales per quarter has been higher in the region than any other over the past year. Yet corporate-liable smartphone sales increased 13% in 3Q year over year.
“BYOD may very well be an unstoppable trend in many regions in the world, but the speed of its growth during a time when companies were still devising usage policies, discovering its management challenges and experiencing its impact first-hand, it’s not too surprising that some momentum would swing back to corporate-owned devices,” Strategy Analytics’ director of mobility Kevin Burden was quoted as saying.
“It is unclear if this is the start of a growing trend or just a correction after more than a year of lopsided adoption, but what is clear is that enterprises still want full control over the mobile experience of many of its users,” Strategy Analytics notes.
