As a journalist at Australian Reseller News:
Rapidly declining mobile call rates and an increase in landline-mobile bundled offerings are driving mobility technologies in the business market, a new IDC report has found.
According to the analyst firm's survey on Australian business wireless usage, one in five business calls made within the office is from a mobile, rather than a landline. The survey also revealed organisations are replacing about one in every 10 landline calls on their mobile.
The report suggested mobile carriers and solution partners should move away from price competition and offer innovative products based on the emerging technologies, such as fixed mobile convergence.
Devices such as the Blackberry are part of a first wave of mobile solutions, aimed at increasing the efficiency of a business by replicating some office functionality while on the move.
According to the IDC study, emerging second-wave enterprise mobility is now centered on business processes led by CRM, field and sales force automation.
IDC associate mobile and wireless analyst, Jerson Yau, said telecom providers were leading the charge into second-wave mobile devices.
Yau highlighted several market verticals, including utilities, transportation, logistics, wholesaling and manufacturing, as also driving the push towards mobile offices.
He predicted a third wave of mobile solutions would bring businesses a competitive edge by allowing them to respond to queries from colleagues and customers in real-time.
Last year, Australians spent $8.6 billion in mobile services, including voice calls and data calls. By comparison, 2004 saw a spending of just past $8 billion.
