Source www.vnunet.com
By Martin Lynch
vnunet
15-12-2003
Notebook manufacturers and system builders need to develop a greater understanding of mobile professionals and their individual needs to capitalise on the growing trend towards mobility.
The finding comes from market watcher IDC in its latest report, Exploring Usage Models In Mobility: A Cluster Analysis of Mobile Users, which sets out to identify different types of mobile workers and the technologies they use, from notebooks to mobile phones and PDAs.
The report is based on cluster samples gathered from IDC's mobile e-panel community of more than 12,000 people, many of whom are responsible for influencing or purchasing mobile solutions for their companies.
According to IDC, greater understanding of the hardware, software and solutions for different users is needed to cash in on what it calls "a multibillion-dollar industry".
"The consumer and business worlds are diverging as individuals continue to use mobile devices, applications, and services beyond work hours," said Randy Giusto, vice president of IDC's Personal Technology and Services research.
"Understanding the usage patterns of discrete types of mobile users will help technology vendors and wireless operators map out where they need to focus their mobility efforts, and IT professionals where they need to make adjustments in their mobility initiatives."
IDC has identified four distinct groups which it has termed Display Mavens, Mobile Elite, Minimalists and Voice and Text Fanatics.
The Mavens are those that use their notebooks a lot for presentations but also for out-of-hours entertainment. The Elite is classed as those users that adopt the newest technologies first. Minimalists category employs just the basics of mobility, and the final group is communications-centric, focusing mainly on text-based data and messaging.
Apart from advice for the mobile industry IDC urges IT professionals to ensure the solutions they implement fit the increasingly diverse business needs of their employees.
Terry Fisher, pre-sales and product manager at VAR Compusys, said: "Within businesses there is generally more of a drive to make sure that the money spent on notebooks is spent more wisely.
"There is no point getting everyone the latest and greatest notebooks if only 10 per cent of the workforce will actually need all of the functionality."
|