Global smartphone shipments to mobile business customers are forecast to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 15 per cent.
The mobile business customer smartphone installed base will exceed 30 per cent worldwide; in North America, it will exceed 65 per cent.
But behind these numbers will be a hyper-competitive marketplace defined by the operating system.
ABI Research predicts that in North America BlackBerry will maintain its leadership position but Apple and Android will gain a solid presence. If Verizon launches the iPhone, iOS market share will grow even more.
In Western Europe Android’s share will grow the most as Windows Phone share slips.
The installed base share in Latin America will shift from a customer base using mainly Windows to one shared nearly equally by Windows, Symbian and BlackBerry.
In Asia Pacific Symbian’s market share will drop significantly but Symbian will still maintain its lead; Android will reach the number two position.
According to ABI Research enterprise practice director Dan Shey, “With the iPhone and now Android, business customers simply have more choices.
“While each region will have a different set of competitive dynamics, within a few years regional installed base market shares of 50 percent+ will be a thing of the past.
“Security, applications, and device management capabilities will be key determinants of success for each platform – but not necessarily in that order.”
