Enterprises urged to rethink mobility as device chaos grows
SOTI has published new research highlighting the challenges organisations face in managing device proliferation and accelerating automation within enterprise mobility.
The company's latest State of Mobility Report, "The Mobility Mandate: Navigating Device Chaos & Strategic Automation in a New Digital Era," analyses responses from 7,300 participants across 11 countries, focussing on how businesses in healthcare, emergency services, transportation and logistics, and distributed workforce sectors are adapting their digital strategies.
Device diversity
One key issue for enterprises is the growth in mobile and Internet of Things (IoT) devices, with businesses needing tailored approaches to integrate diverse technologies into their workflows. In transportation and logistics, SOTI's research finds that rugged handhelds and tablets are now used an average of 3.5 days each week by workers across all roles, while 37% of employees in the sector use mobile printers daily and 74% report using them at least several times each week.
The report cautions against a uniform, one-size-fits-all device strategy, instead emphasising the need for custom solutions to meet varying operational needs.
Operational visibility
SOTI's research indicates a growing need for operational intelligence, with the emphasis shifting from reactive device troubleshooting to more predictive diagnostics. Only 54% of workers in distributed environments report being supported with video, talk, or text capabilities-an indicator of persistent gaps in real-time support and device management infrastructure.
This visibility, or lack thereof, has a direct impact on frontline performance and organisational efficiency, especially when managing dispersed teams and a varied device fleet.
Automation barriers
While automation uptake is increasing across several industries, legacy systems and manual processes remain persistent hurdles. According to SOTI's report, 97% of healthcare organisations continue to rely on outdated technologies, and 57% of these cite security issues linked directly to legacy infrastructure.
The research suggests that these obstacles not only slow digital transformation but may also introduce potential security risks to enterprise operations.
Workforce experience
The impact of device integration and reliability extends beyond efficiency, affecting staff well-being and productivity, particularly in sectors where time and accuracy are critical. In emergency services, SOTI reports that 92% of first responders experience device-related issues every week. The average time to resolve these problems is 21 minutes, pointing to the significant operational impact of downtime in high-pressure situations.
Poor integration and lack of robust support systems, the report notes, can have wider ramifications for service delivery and employee morale.
Strategic approach
SOTI's findings call for a long-term, strategic view of enterprise mobility, with emphasis on system visibility and interconnection as vital factors for future resilience and sustainable competitive advantage. The drive towards more strategic mobility management comes in response to the rapidly evolving digital landscape, where agility and adaptability are considered essential for business continuity and performance.
"As organizations scale and digitize, mobility is no longer a support function-it's the backbone of competitiveness," said Shash Anand, SVP of Product Strategy at SOTI. "This research makes clear: businesses must move from ad-hoc device management to intelligent, strategic mobility that ensures resilience, agility and measurable ROI."
SOTI points to its SOTI ONE Platform as a means to address challenges identified in the research. This includes diagnostic intelligence through SOTI XSight, digitisation of processes with SOTI Snap, and lifecycle management for enterprise-grade printers using SOTI Connect.
