eMarketer: B2B embraces a mobile-first future

Smartphones and tablets enter the workplace as 'bring your own device' trend takes off

Smartphones and tablets are essential companions for busy business professionals, though desktops and laptops remain the primary workhorse in the office. As mobile permeates every aspect of the workplace, that paradigm is shifting quickly, affecting the path to business-to-business (B2B) e-commerce purchases and, in turn, changing the budgets, strategies, and actions of B2B marketers, according to a new eMarketer report, "B2B Mobile Marketing: As Buyers Go Mobile, Sellers Are Catching Up."

The trend toward "bring your own device" (BYOD) in the workplace, which allows employees to use their personal smartphones, tablets or laptops on the company network, has led to an influx of smartphones and tablets into the office. In an April 2013 survey by enterprise mobility service provider iPass, nearly three-quarters of North American mobile workers said their companies had a BYOD policy.

Mobile usage is no longer limited to remote or mobile workers. According to Forrester Research in Q4 2012, while 91% of connected employees around the world use a computer at their desk, 64% also use a smartphone. The only other place where more respondents use their smartphone is at home. And, after home, the desk is the most popular place for tablet use.

Desktop computers still reign supreme in the office, but some believe that "mobile-first" will become commonplace in the coming years. In a March 2013 Forbes Insights study conducted in partnership with Google, more than half of U.S. business executives said they would replace desktop computers with mobile devices as their primary business platform within the next three years.

This shift to mobile-first is underway, blurring the already fuzzy lines between “work time” and “personal time.” While demand for high-quality mobile experiences is growing among enterprise users, consumer-facing companies have been working to deliver on that demand over the past few years.

Via: 199it Translated from eMarketer