Enterprise phones are still a thing?
Well, I guess that depends on your interpretation. The author of this article certainly seems to think so. I would argue this information is tragically irrelevant. In fact, what the data says basically proves my point.
I'd be interested to find out how "enterprise phones" on the whole are actually doing as a market. Are they growing or shrinking? How big is that market relative to consumer phones?
I remember the hay-day of enterprise phones. Back when I was in high school a company wasn't worth working for if they didn't at least have a corporate plan (special rates with a Telco for certain phones). And the good jobs were the ones where you were actually supplied with a phone on a contract paid by the companies. That era was the genesis of the "enterprise phone". And back then, those that got a company phone whether the contract was paid or not were generally getting a "true" enterprise phone. They were generally required to be a specific brand or even specific model of phone (almost always Black Berry). They were locked down and managed. They were tools for enterprise employees.
How many of those companies still exist? I'm sure some still do, but since my high school days, I have never seen such a company. And I have the experience, position and clout to be in a position that would be eligible.
The bulk of these "enterprise phones" are undoubtedly just top level managers or executives using corporate funds to buy a personal phone and expense it.
And the proof is in the pudding. I can think of 2 OS's for 2 different reasons that should top that chart. One isn't even on there, and the other is being trounced by iOS.
The first is Black Berry. To be frank, and as someone who isn't a fan of the OS, the ONLY true enterprise smartphone platform in existence today is BB OS. As far as security, device management, enterprise functionality and options NO ONE comes close. The fact that they aren't even on the list alone proves what a complete farce the supposed enterprise phone market has become.
After Black Berry should be Android. Not because it is the number 1 smartphone OS in the world, but because it is the most flexible and with the most apps and the widest range of device options. Android offers more options for managing enterprise devices than iOS does.
Now the site mentions that BB activations aren't registered because they are activated by corporate BES servers and so the numbers aren't available. But the implication is that the number is smaller, at least, than the two bigger players. Also, not all corporate BB based companies use BES. In fact, many smaller ones don't. Wouldn't those numbers register?
Of course... to make matters worse... these numbers also include iPad's and Android tablets. Which is a problem because Microsoft's tablet platform isn't Windows Phone... it is either WinRT or Windows 8. Neither of which was included. Secondly, tablets in the workplace are an even bigger farce than "corporate iPhones". While there is *some* justification for a corporate financed phone (you need to be able to contact valuable employees round the clock, and it is theoretically possible that they don't own a personal cell phone) ... there is literally none for a corporate financed tablet. None of these devices are primary computing devices. None of these are replacing a phone. These are purely superfluous expenditures. Again, baubles for high ranking employees to play with and show off.
The other possibility with the tablets is that they are used as kiosks. And I wouldn't call those enterprise tablets. A kiosk is an end-user facing device. Not a productivity device used to further said enterprise. Also, if kiosks are included, it would be a disservice for another reason. The company picking up devices for use as kiosks rarely have a say in the hardware. Someone else develops the software and they develop it for a particular platform. It often isn't the enterprise users choosing one device over another.
I don't think Windows Phone will ever be a competitor in this market. But I also don't think this market is even worth targeting specifically. All platforms should be looking at BYOD as their entry into the enterprise. Even companies with MDM strategies and policies these days are working on a BYOD basis. And I suspect that market is already astronomically larger than the "enterprise phone" market. And I would be surprised to find if out of the global market that enterprise phones made up more than 1% of total phone sales.
Microsoft, as well as Apple, Google and even Black Berry should really avoid focusing anything more intentionally on enterprise phone activations. Instead, they should be focused on supporting protocols for MDM and various security policies and standards. The more of those check boxes you tick the more likely an IT group is going to put your OS/Phones on its short list. If they care at all. And most don't.
Enterprise phones are dead.
I'd be interested to find out how "enterprise phones" on the whole are actually doing as a market. Are they growing or shrinking? How big is that market relative to consumer phones?
I remember the hay-day of enterprise phones. Back when I was in high school a company wasn't worth working for if they didn't at least have a corporate plan (special rates with a Telco for certain phones). And the good jobs were the ones where you were actually supplied with a phone on a contract paid by the companies. That era was the genesis of the "enterprise phone". And back then, those that got a company phone whether the contract was paid or not were generally getting a "true" enterprise phone. They were generally required to be a specific brand or even specific model of phone (almost always Black Berry). They were locked down and managed. They were tools for enterprise employees.
How many of those companies still exist? I'm sure some still do, but since my high school days, I have never seen such a company. And I have the experience, position and clout to be in a position that would be eligible.
The bulk of these "enterprise phones" are undoubtedly just top level managers or executives using corporate funds to buy a personal phone and expense it.
And the proof is in the pudding. I can think of 2 OS's for 2 different reasons that should top that chart. One isn't even on there, and the other is being trounced by iOS.
The first is Black Berry. To be frank, and as someone who isn't a fan of the OS, the ONLY true enterprise smartphone platform in existence today is BB OS. As far as security, device management, enterprise functionality and options NO ONE comes close. The fact that they aren't even on the list alone proves what a complete farce the supposed enterprise phone market has become.
After Black Berry should be Android. Not because it is the number 1 smartphone OS in the world, but because it is the most flexible and with the most apps and the widest range of device options. Android offers more options for managing enterprise devices than iOS does.
Now the site mentions that BB activations aren't registered because they are activated by corporate BES servers and so the numbers aren't available. But the implication is that the number is smaller, at least, than the two bigger players. Also, not all corporate BB based companies use BES. In fact, many smaller ones don't. Wouldn't those numbers register?
Of course... to make matters worse... these numbers also include iPad's and Android tablets. Which is a problem because Microsoft's tablet platform isn't Windows Phone... it is either WinRT or Windows 8. Neither of which was included. Secondly, tablets in the workplace are an even bigger farce than "corporate iPhones". While there is *some* justification for a corporate financed phone (you need to be able to contact valuable employees round the clock, and it is theoretically possible that they don't own a personal cell phone) ... there is literally none for a corporate financed tablet. None of these devices are primary computing devices. None of these are replacing a phone. These are purely superfluous expenditures. Again, baubles for high ranking employees to play with and show off.
The other possibility with the tablets is that they are used as kiosks. And I wouldn't call those enterprise tablets. A kiosk is an end-user facing device. Not a productivity device used to further said enterprise. Also, if kiosks are included, it would be a disservice for another reason. The company picking up devices for use as kiosks rarely have a say in the hardware. Someone else develops the software and they develop it for a particular platform. It often isn't the enterprise users choosing one device over another.
I don't think Windows Phone will ever be a competitor in this market. But I also don't think this market is even worth targeting specifically. All platforms should be looking at BYOD as their entry into the enterprise. Even companies with MDM strategies and policies these days are working on a BYOD basis. And I suspect that market is already astronomically larger than the "enterprise phone" market. And I would be surprised to find if out of the global market that enterprise phones made up more than 1% of total phone sales.
Microsoft, as well as Apple, Google and even Black Berry should really avoid focusing anything more intentionally on enterprise phone activations. Instead, they should be focused on supporting protocols for MDM and various security policies and standards. The more of those check boxes you tick the more likely an IT group is going to put your OS/Phones on its short list. If they care at all. And most don't.
Enterprise phones are dead.
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