This study examines current and near-term SMB (small and mid-sized business) demand for mobile worker software applications. It also profiles a subset of mobile worker app providers that are successfully reaching the SMB sector and identifies future growth opportunities in this market.

The information contained in this study allows mobile worker app providers (app developers and their channels) the opportunity to benchmark their SMB strategies against those of their peers. This study should also encourage providers to compare their day-to-day experience with SMBs against the preferences and plans expressed by this segment in Frost & Sullivan’s recent Global Enterprise Digital Solutions Survey.

Frost & Sullivan defines mobile worker applications as software solutions that allow remote and mobile employees real-time access to—and exchange of—critical information, collaboration, and/or guidance via their smartphones, tablets and other mobile devices. This typically includes transmitting valuable field information—such as worker location, task completion, customer orders, etc.—to administrators and staff.

Small and mid-sized businesses in the U.S. and Europe are attracted to the hard-dollar benefits of mobile worker applications, including anticipated increases in employee productivity, business process efficiency, and day-to-day employee collaboration.

Examples of current mobile worker apps include mobile field service management solutions, digital forms and data capture, software apps that extend sales force automation capabilities to a field sales rep’s mobile handheld, mobile situational awareness apps, navigation and mapping applications, etc.

This study discusses market trends, lists potential growth drivers, and includes profiles of 14 SMB app providers representing multiple product categories. These one-page profiles summarize the provider’s current app portfolio, definition of SMB , competitive differentiators, and current SMB
strategy elements. Commonalities among the profiled providers are identified, as well as the characteristics of leaders in this space.

Relevant survey results are also shared. Survey responses from SMBs in the U.S., UK, France, and Germany identify:

•     Current and future mobile worker app deployment plans
•     Types of users
•     Adoption drivers and barriers
•     Preferred mobility partners
•     Criteria used to select mobile business application partners
•     Preferences regarding prebuilt vs. custom solutions
•     Criteria used to select prebuilt mobile business apps
•     Tactics to encourage app usage
•     Unauthorized app usage as a problem
•     Deployment decision-makers
•     Cloud vs. on-premise delivery preference
•     Deployment plans for more complex solutions
•     Deployment plans for AI and machine learning

While small and mid-sized companies present certain challenges—including constrained budgets and limited IT resources—they have expressed strong interest in mobile worker apps and can be viewed as a key growth driver in this market.

Author: Jeanine Sterling