Apple iOS Devices Dominate Enterprise Market
the enterprise market with 73 percent of smartphone activations thanks to the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, according to the third quarter Good Mobility Index Report.
“The introduction of the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus appears to have made a significant impact on the overall share,” Good Technology reported. In contrast with the surge in September, iOS devices made up only 66 percent of all activations in July and August, a drop of one percent from previous quarters, the report found.
Stealing Share from Android
The Good Technology Mobility Index is part of larger effort by the company to track and analyze the impact of mobile apps and platforms. The company based its report on data from its 6,000 enterprise clients in the financial services, healthcare, manufacturing, energy & utilities, legal, government, and high tech sectors.
Among the iOS handsets activated by enterprise clients, the smaller iPhone 6 far outpaced its larger sibling. The 4.7-inch model represented a whopping 85 percent of iOS activations in the first partial month of sales for both models, according to Good Technology. Total iOS activations also increased in the third quarter, now representing 69 percent, up from 67 percent in the previous quarter.
Both iPhone 6 models seem to be increasing their market share at the expense of the Android mobile phone platform. Total Android activations decreased by an amount equal to Apple’s gain. Windows phones, on the other hand, appear to be holding steady at one percent of total device activations, the same market share they have held in the previous six quarters.
Custom Business Apps Surging
In addition to a rebound in the enterprise handset market, Apple continued to hold the lion’s share of tablet activations. The iPad represented 89 percent of tablet activations in the third quarter, with Android representing the remainder of the market. However, Android’s 11 percent market share represented a slight increase over the previous quarter, and the second quarter in which it has made inroads into Apple’s market dominance.
Custom business apps, meanwhile continue to experience the exponential growth that has defined the market for the past three years. Custom applications grew 107 percent quarter-over-quarter, and 731 percent year-over-year. “With this quarter’s growth acceleration, custom apps took the lead as the most activated app category on the Good Dynamics Secure Mobility Platform,” Good Technology reported.
App usage by device type differed substantially, according to the report. Custom apps were a clear leader on smartphones, representing 29 percent of all smartphone apps. However, secure IM and secure browser followed as the next most widely utilized apps on smartphones. Document-oriented apps followed farther behind.
In contrast, document editing was the clear winner for the most popular applications, representing 36 percent of the apps on tablets. Customs apps followed at 27 percent. Secure browser and secure IM proved less popular on those devices.
While the report found that businesses are using custom apps across all their devices, the usage pattern on smartphones and tablets are different. Smartphone users utilize their devices primarily to get quick access to pertinent information, while tablet users are using their tablets for more involved document-oriented workflows.