These days, personal devices need to handle both work and play. By some estimates, nearly 80 percent of workers using a mobile device for work are using their own. The shift from company-issued smartphones and tablets to bring your own device (BYOD) policies has fundamentally changed how business gets done. In a recent post, Gartner called the BYOD revolution the “most radical change to the economics and culture of business in decades.” As more companies allow personal devices into the workplace, Apple’s iPhone and Google’s Android ecosystem fight to be the first choice of business. After an early lead, Google’s Android seems to have fallen behind, and Apple’s iPhone and iPad has quietly become the industry standard. But Google won’t give up.
Apple started to really compete for enterprise-level business with the 2013 release of iOS 7. The released added some 200 new features aimed at the businesses user including multitasking, single sign-on functionality and the building blocks needed to incorporate mobile device management—tools that help IT departments manage secure information across many devices. A year later, by the time the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus were introduced in September 2014, Apple devices were the favorite choice for business. The popularity of the iPhone 6 only cemented Apple’s hold on the no. 1 spot.
Since its launch, quarter after quarter the iPhone 6 continues to take market share away from Android, according to Good Technology’s Mobility Index Report. In the fourth quarter of 2014, almost three-quarters of devices activated run the iOS ecosystem, up 3 percent from the third quarter. The iPhone 6 alone made up 30 percent of newly activated devices. Apple’s products dominate regulated industries. Good’s global data finds iOS devices rule the legal (95 percent), public (82 percent) and financial services (81 percent) sectors.
Showing an even deeper commitment to business at the end of last year Apple partnered with IBM to launch MobileFirst for iOS. Built exclusively for Apple devices and aimed at enterprise customers in the banking, retail, insurance, financial services, telecommunications and government and airline industries the collection of 10 industry-specific apps is delivered securely, customizable and cloud-based. Clients using MobileFirst for iOS include Citi, Air Canada and Sprint. The family of apps continues to expand, three new apps ranging from customer care to sales-side inventory management were unveiled Monday, March 2.
With the recent launch of Android at Work, a suite of applications and services aimed at helping work and pleasure coexist peacefully on the same device, Google hopes to challenge Apple’s control of the mobile device enterprise market. First discussed last summer and formally introduced last week, the tool is built using technology Google acquired through its purchase of startup Divide. Rajen Sheth, who oversees Google’s push into business, told Wired calling Android for Work an app wasn’t descriptive enough, he prefers “an app of apps.” The central point of difference is the work profile. Once up and running, users would have access to a completely separate set of apps for work denoted by a special icon and accessed with a distinct username and password.
Android at Work hopes to address a major concern for businesses allowing personal devices in the workplace: security. Both employees and managers understand the need for keeping business data secure on a personal device. A survey from Webroot found while employees are okay with companies adding some level of security software to their personal device, many (47 percent) are concerned about personal information being erased from the phone in the event they leave the company.
Android for Work addresses those fears by keeping business software separate from personal. IT departments can update or remove software without touching personal data. Looking forward, Google has plans for phones preloaded with the Android for Work. For now, the current set of Android for Work apps and any newly developed apps will be available through a special Google Play for Work store.
BYOD is showing no signs of slowing; in fact Gartner estimates businesses will stop issuing company-owned devices by the end of next year. Apple and Google’s continuing fight for market share will drive innovative solutions on how to keep business data safe while not interfering with everyone’s favorite personal entertainment device. But for now, who will come out on top – Apple or Google – seems to be a game of wait-and-see.
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