Forrester Research: A Fast-Growing Mobile Workforce

Filed in archive Mobile on October 9, 2008

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A new report from Forrester Research says mobile information workers, who either telecommute or travel frequently, account for 20% of workers today - and will account for 34% of workers in four years.

"Overall, Forrester estimates 73% of employees will be mobile in some form by 2012," writes InformationWeek's Marin Perez. "Additionally, the report found that the line is blurring between using mobile devices for professional and personal activities. Forrester found that 57% of U.S. smartphone owners with full- or part-time jobs currently use their personal handsets for work-related phone calls, and nearly half use their phones to check work e-mail."

"As the economy worsens, giving 'mobile wannabes' a mobile lifeline back to the office could also give employers the flexibility to offer lower salaries - after all, surveys consistently show that flexible scheduling is of far more interest to employees than more pay," writes the NYT's Stacey Higginbotham. "Investing in products to make workers more productive and keep data secure seems like a win-win."

"This dramatic growth of mobile workers, whatever the definition, over the next few years presents opportunities for vendors, device makers, application developers and network operators alike," writes eWeek's Roy Mark.