The just released redesigned Citrix Mobile Analytics Report for February 2015 indicates that EMEA region sees the highest mobile device diversity in the world.
The report indicates that mobile device usage is continuing to grow in both volume and sophistication in both consumer and business markets, with no signs of slowing. This Mobile Analytics Report Shows a rapid rise in mobile video consumption and impact of larger format devices and it underscores pitfalls and opportunities for mobile operators and enterprise IT.
In a presentation distributed by Citirx, a copy of which has been to Channel Post MEA, the report indicated that data drawn from a global crosssection of mobile network operators, examined through big data analytics, provides insight into the personal experience of the mobile network subscriber and the impact of subscriber data usage on the mobile network.
It revealed that data on mobility trends within the enterprise provides a complementary view and taken as a whole, the report offers the comprehensive, 360-degree visibility and insight both mobile network operators and enterprise IT need to make the right decisions about their strategy and operations today.
It observed that regardless of whether or not their company offers a formal bring-your-own-device (BYOD) program, people routinely use the same smartphones, tablets and laptops across every part of their lives.
“They use work apps for personal matters, from calendaring to content creation, just as they use personal social media and file sharing accounts to meet their needs in the workplace. Mobile video plays a central role in internal corporate communications, marketing and revenue generation—as well as in the entertainment diet of most mobile customers,” the report indicated.
It noted that, “It’s no longer possible for either mobile network operators or enterprise IT to maintain artificial boundaries of personal and business mobility. In this era of converged mobility, the way people use mobile devices and apps in their personal lives inevitably carries over to their behaviors, preferences and expectations at work, and vice versa.”
Th report that encompasses both consumer and business mobility, has data drawn from a global crosssection of mobile network operators, examined through big data analytics, provides insight into the personal experience of the mobile network subscriber and the impact of subscriber data usage on the mobile network.
“Data on mobility trends within the enterprise provides a complementary view. Taken as a whole, the report offers the comprehensive, 360-degree visibility and insight both mobile network operators and enterprise IT need to make the right decisions about their strategy and operations today.
In its findings, the report indicated that mobile data consumption continues to grow, driven in part by the rising popularity of video, as consumers rely on their mobile devices for everything from love and health to sports and gaming. Video optimization will play a key role for mobile operators in ensuring an acceptable user experience, especially for mobile data services.
It showed that mobile dating apps are most popular at 6 pm and consist primarily of images.
It showed that mobile subscribers now access more than double the amount of sports video content over mobile, from 21% in Q3 2014 to 50% in Q1 2015.
Fitness increases its dominance of mobile health apps, with 78% of mobile health app users using fitness apps, up from 39% in 2013.
In some of its outstanding findings, the comprehensive presentation by Citrix reveals that 1% of smartphone subscribers use dating apps or access dating sites, generating minimal data traffic volume of 0.3% on a daily basis.
Mobile sports video content, measured by volume, increased from 21% in Q3 2014 to 50% in Q1 2015
2.5% of mobile subscribers access sports content on any given day, generating 0.5% of mobile data traffic volume. Per the Citrix Q3 2014 Mobile Analytics Report, during game time on July 8, 2014 regional ESPN traffic over mobile increased 20 times. Once the score dropped to 0-5 data volume returned to normal.
On this, the Citrix report said, Mobile operators need to consider the additional growth in mobile sport video content that is expected between now and the Rio 2016 Olympics.
The average mobile subscriber who accesses sports content does so for 2.6 minutes at a time.
On Mobile Games, the report said, it was found that video dominates Mobile gaming. In Q1 2014, only two of the top five mobile games contained video content delivered over the network
On Mobile Health, Citrix said Mobile operators need to consider how the proliferation of wearable devices will drive growth of mobile health app usage and data services.
As regards issues of screen size, it was observed in the report that a “Super-sized Screen Leads to Super-sized Data Plan. “iPhone 6 Plus subscribers generate the most data volume, double that of an iPhone 6. This increase impacts subscribers when choosing a new device – be careful to select a data plan that matches your super-sized screen. Clearly the phablet sized iPhone 6 Plus shows data usage patterns more akin to tablet usage. For mobile operators, this increase provides an opportunity to shift subscriber Wi-Fi usage towards mobile networks,” the report said.
The report also revealed that the top five mobile games ranked by data volume now all contain video, whereas in Q1 2014 only two of the top five mobile games contained video content, and in Q1 2013 none of the top five did.
On subscriber engagement, the report revelead that the average mobile subscriber engagement is 4.6 Minutes and that Mobile engagement period gradually increases through the day, from an average low of 2.7 minutes at 4 am in the morning, to an average high of 6.7 minutes at 9 pm.
It advised Mobile operators to adapt to subscriber demand by leveraging a dynamic and flexible mobile network infrastructure.
In the area of mobile video engagement the report revealed that 90% of YouTube and 55% of Twitch mobile views are less than 5 minutes while the majority of Netflix mobile views are over 15 minutes.
On user experience it was observed TCP optimization delivers content subscribers want, faster than would otherwise be possible TCP Optimization techniques improve the user experience for data services delivered over http and https. So, With TCP optimization the typical range of data services acceleration is 28%-41%.
About mobility at Work the report explored mobile usage trends in the enterprise and disvoered that as device management becomes a more critical function, enterprises are seeking less obtrusive ways to maintain security while ensuring an acceptable experience for employees, such as a shift from all-or-nothing device-level policies to more granular app-level policies.
The report said that the blacklisting and whitelisting of apps such as consumer-grade file sharing services, notetaking and communication channels shows the importance of productivity and collaboration apps for work. It further indicated that employees will continue to seek out these tools on the consumer market if they are not provided by IT, creating security vulnerabilities and compliance risks that must then be addressed.
It observed that BYOD is not as prevalent in Europe due to government regulations around personal device use and business.
“Taken as a whole, the latest trends show signs of both growing sophistication in the way many enterprises empower and manage employee mobility, and the continued need for IT get the usage of unmanaged, nonsecure consumer-grade mobile apps and services under control.
About device diversity, the report concluded that that EMEA sees the highest device diversity and the following are what it found out:
– The number of devices managed in the enterprise nearly doubled, growing by 72% over the past year.
– iOS remains the dominant mobile platform in the enterprise.
– Device adoption by OS varies across different vertical industries.
– Passcodes remain by far the most common method of device-level enforcement to protect the information used on mobile devices.
– The top blacklisted apps include Dropbox and Mail, revealing both the tendency of employees to seek out productivityrelated apps, and the attempt by IT to get the usage of unmanaged, non-secure third party apps under control.
– The most commonly whitelisted apps are PDF and Notes, again underscoring the importance of productivity and collaboration apps for mobile productivity.
On global device enrollment, the report shows that the number of devices managed in the enterprise nearly doubled, increasing by 72% over the past year. It said enterprises are managing more devices and device types year-over-year across different mobile platforms, including iOS, Android and Windows. the start are: iOS-64%, Android-27%, Windows Mobile-9%.
On which platform dominates the global workforce, the report revealed that iOS continues to dominate the enterprise market while Android is growing in APAC, rising from 19% to 33%, possibly due to the large presence of Samsung in the region. Device diversity is greatest in EMEA, where Windows phones have the greatest presence of 16%. The also report showed that iOS remains the dominant platform in the Americas with 67%.
As for vertical industries’ platform preferences, the report showed that iOS is the most popular choice in nearly every vertical.
The report shows that manufacturing, telecommunications, and mining and construction companies show the greatest device diversity on average, nearly 50% of devices in these industries are a mix of Android, Windows, or other. Government and public administration organizations are most likely to choose Android devices. Legal and financial sectors show a strong preference for iOS. iOS is especially dominant in education (78%), long an area of strength for Apple.
The report also explored the financial spotlight revealing that the financial industry requires the highest levels of security to protect sensitive corporate and customer data, and to support regulatory compliance. It said effective security is a critical requirement for mobility.
On that issue, the report indicated that iOS devices offered superior security, helping them gain a dominant share (71%) in the sector.
As for healthcare industry, the report observed that the industry is embracing mobile technology and it was discovered that an especially large share of Android devices (39%) in healthcare may result in part from a combination of the pressure these organizations face to cut costs, and the increasing equivalence of the apps available on lower-cost Android devices.
In the manufacturing sector, the report revealed that manufacturing environments require users to be on the move with access to applications throughout various facilities. The sector has a relative device diversity with more Windows devices (7%) than other sectors, may reflect the types of applications in use.
Within the area of policy deployments, the report observed that policies are enforced at a device, app, or file level to ensure enterprise security and compliance mobile for users. In its findings, it said: GPS dropped from 2013 to 2014. Companies are transitioning away from intrusive device-level policies like GPS restrictions.
Fastforward to the top blacklisted and whitelisted Apps, according to the report, these remain central elements of enterprise mobility. Blacklisting refers to the practice of disallowing the installation and use of specific mobile apps on users’ devices. Whitelisting refers to the practice of recommending specific mobile apps to users. “Interestingly, social media apps appear on both the blacklist and whitelist for organizations,” said the report.
The report indicates that companies blacklist third-party productivity apps that may lack enterprise-grade security. The top blacklisted apps include GPS, Keep Alives, Dropbox, Mail, Facebook and Twitter, while the most commonly whitelisted apps include several for productivity and collaboration, including Adobe Reader, OneNote, Lync, Facebook, and Twitter.
