If you thought BlackBerry and mobile device support needs were overwhelming your IT department now, prepare yourself, as it’s only going to get worse. According to a recent study, smartphone use for business will almost double from 2008 to 2011, the variety of devices being used will increase, and IT departments will continue to be ill-equipped to handle mobile device support needs.

Yikes. All that, and we’re still in a recession.

Because the majority of users are higher-profile employees, the downtime has a greater impact on an organization’s bottom line.

According to the study, which was sponsored by Zenprise Inc. and published in March by Osterman Research, smartphone use in the enterprise will jump from 23 percent to 46 percent by 2011. Although the BlackBerry and Windows Mobile devices will continue to dominate the business market, support needs will increase for other platforms such as iPhone and Palm OS.

The report made special note of downtime as a key issue. Because the majority of users are higher-profile employees, such as senior and middle managers, the downtime has a greater effect on an organization’s bottom line.

“…Users become so dependent on mobile devices, and others become so dependent on being able to reach them, that downtime can cause serious problems – slower decision-making, slower customer response, etc.,” the report states. “Making mobile messaging available 24×7 is as critical, if not more so, than making conventional messaging available.” Read more…

Jenny Sweeney Mobile Devices 24x7 support, BlackBerry, CIO, Help Desk, iPhone, Outsourcing, Palm OS, Windows Mobile