Cisco IBSG Research – What Mobile Users Want from WiFi

Once upon a time – one not so long ago – mobile devices were primarily used by upper-level executives.   That model is now turned on its head, as mobile devices seem as common among employees as shoes and socks.

Smartphones, tablets, and new hybrid devices provide access to critical information and improve the way business gets done.  A staggering amount of data is being generated by smartphones, tablets, and other connected devices. The Cisco Visual Networking Index (VNI) predicts that global mobile data traffic will increase 18-fold from 2011 to 2016. In addition, the use of Wi-Fi for Internet access is exploding, and  it has increasingly made its way into most businesses.

Interestingly, there has been little research on how mobile business users are actually using Wi-Fi, how they want to employ it, and what is driving them to connect using Wi-Fi rather than “mobile.”

To help fill this gap, the Cisco Internet Business Solutions Group (IBSG) conducted a survey of 540 U.S. mobile business users to understand their needs and behaviors, current and future mobile usage, and level of interest in Wi-Fi . . . as well as new forms of monetization. For analysis purposes, Cisco IBSG defined business users as those who use their mobile devices at their primary or remote places of work. Roughly 60 percent of these users were “knowledge workers”.

Take a look at the paper detailing the findings – “What do Mobile Business Users Want from Wi-Fi?”   It can be found on the Service Provider Thought Leadership page of the IBSG web site.

In addition, this site holds many other thoughtful, provocative papers and research relative to the service provider segment.   Check it out.