Android, iPhone taking over enterprise deployments

The trend that has long defined the consumer smartphone market is beginning to take hold among companies leveraging the mobile devices. According to a new Forrester Research report, the iPhone and smartphones run on the Android mobile operating system are taking over enterprise deployments.

Research In Motion's BlackBerry, which revolutionized the smartphone, has long held the competitive advantage among enterprises. There was once a time when IT administrators wouldn't think twice about any other devices when forming strategies for mobile device management.

That has all changed now. Consumerization has been a buzzword for enterprise mobility for the past year, but it is becoming increasingly evident that the mobile landscape for most companies has forever shifted.

BlackBerry is still leading the charge, according to Forrester's findings, but the platform no longer enjoys the tight grip it had on the market just a few years ago. Forrester surveyed nearly 1,700 U.S.-based workers for its new survey and discovered that 42 percent use a BlackBerry at work.

However, 26 percent said they leverage an Android-based device, while 22 percent used an iPhone. Those figures may have been unheard of just three years ago, but such is the new reality for mobile device management.

Two major trends can be pulled from these results, Forrester analyst Ted Schadler recently told Computerworld. The first is that consumerization is growing in popularity as more workers bring devices from home, and, secondly, more companies than ever are supporting such smartphones and tablets.

And demand for these devices will only increase, Schadler's colleague Matt Brown said.

“We expect a tsunami of mobile user demand for access to portals, productivity tools and back-end transactional and reporting systems as these devices make it into the hands of the broader workforce,” Brown, a vice president and practice leader at Forrester, said.

Findings that support this claim include the fact that 48 percent of respondents said they choose a work device without considering support from the IT department. Twenty-nine percent chose from a list of supported devices and just 23 percent have no choice which smartphones are supported.

BlackBerry's new-found struggles in the enterprise were preceded by a drop in market share among consumers. A recent study by the NPD Group's Connected Intelligence service revealed that Android has earned the most enthusiasm among consumers. Thirty-six percent of respondents said they had "the most interest" in Google's platform.