Mobile gets market moving

Systems integrators will be able to cash in on sector growth

Systems integrators will be able to cash in on growth in the mobile computing sector, according to the Yankee Group.

The analyst firm predicted that over the next three to five years mobility will be a high-growth area and that specialists in specific applications will enjoy good margins.

The report, System Integrators Creep into Mobile Computing, looked at how mobility and wireless solutions are sold into enterprises for different services.

Keith Yaxley, sales and marketing director at mobile integrator Data2Hand, said: "Mobile is on people's lists, certainly in the UK. The blue-collar sector has been doing mobile for years and it's now moving into the white collar sector.

"GPRS has helped speed things up too. Mobile computing is moving into the same kind of market as mobile phones. It's not for everyone initially but now all companies see the cost justification."

The report found the business case for mobile technology was getting easier to make, and that integrators could point to new applications and more transparent costs to help sell it into enterprises.

Firms that specialise in applications like logistics or telemetry will be the real winners, the report claimed.

Andrew Efstathiou, one of the report's co-authors, said: "Integrators can deliver serious value to enterprises by providing education about mobile solutions, such as cost justification.

"Companies without experience in wireless computing have difficulty in constructing a total cost of ownership [TCO] analysis, especially the components of TCO relating to applications and device management.

"Integrators have discovered that creating even a straw man business case for mobile projects is immensely helpful."

The Yankee report is backed by research firm IDC, which stated this month that mobility would be one of the most dynamic markets.

Vicky Hawksworth, research manager for IDC's European IT markets centre, said: "We see some bright spots, particularly around the concept of mobility and wireless."