IDC Predicts Explosive Growth for Mobile Enterprise E-mail in Asia/Pacific by 2010
Friday, 30 June 2006
The number of mobile enterprise e-mail subscribers will increase in Asia/Pacific (excluding Japan) region from 0.74 million in 2006 to 2.72 million in 2010 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 38.2 percent. Significant growth will come when mobile e-mail proliferates within the ranks of the middle management and the frontline staff and offer cost efficiencies for the enterprise, according to IDC's latest report, "Asia/Pacific (excluding Japan) Mobile Enterprise E-mail 2006-2010 Forecast And Analysis: Has It Come Of Age?"
“Carriers are offering multiple mobile e-mail solutions originating from competing mobile e-mail providers, to the enterprise customers. As the competition heats up in the mobile enterprise e-mail space, the solutions that cater to the specific requirements of the customers in the region and offer the best deal to the carrier will find their way into the enterprises,” says Shalini Verma, Senior Market Analyst, for IDC’s Asia/Pacific Enterprise Mobility Research, “For solutions vendors, securing a deal with the carrier is only half the battle won. The real challenge will be to convert these partnerships into customer acquisitions.”
Mobile enterprise e-mail is at a warm-up stage in Asia/Pacific, and the vendors are pulling out all the stops to prepare for the big race ahead. The ecosystem for mobile enterprise e-mail is firming up as mobile e-mail players are turning their attention to the region and making a beeline for carriers to engage them in distribution deals.
Carriers recognize varying needs among different enterprises and are therefore offering multiple solutions to the end-users. Many carriers offer a BlackBerry solution along with their own branded mobile e-mail service from players such as Seven. Players such as Visto and Good Technologies are also increasing their presence in the region. The entry of large players such as Nokia and Microsoft has created new momentum in the marketplace.
The solutions for mobilizing corporate e-mail include proprietary solutions, non-proprietary solutions, network-operating center (NOC) based solutions and behind-the-firewall solutions. The basic enabling feature for mobile e-mail is push e-mail, which synchronizes the mobile device with the corporate e-mail systems, so that the mail server automatically transmits new e-mails to the mobile device. At the first stage, mobile e-mail players worked towards hooking up their solution to as many corporate e-mail solutions. Now, the focus is on making the e-mail solution available on as many device platforms and devices.
Mobile enterprise e-mail will be strategically positioned within the enterprise mobility portfolio. It will act as a driver for enterprise mobility applications and will be the stepping-stone for enterprises to deploy other complex applications.