Survey reveals mobility is important to IT managers

The consumerization of IT is driving a number of different trends among businesses, including the increased demand for mobile devices. According to a new study by Cisco that surveyed more than 1,500 IT managers around the globe, smartphones and tablets are becoming increasingly popular in the workplace. In fact, for every three requests for smartphone adoption plans, there is one for tablets.

Throughout the United States, Canada, the U.K., Germany, France and Spain, it was the U.S. and France that had the most requests for tablets, with 21 percent of IT managers demanding the use of these devices in the office. Additionally, senior-level executives in the U.S. were the most likely to receive these gadgets, as 38 percent of them were utilizing tablets, the study found.

Interestingly, the most common demand for these devices was because of the ability to have collaborative applications, as video conferencing, instant message and seamless synchronization were the most wanted capabilities, according to the study.

By utilizing unified communications, businesses will be able to integrate all of these solutions onto their mobile device to improve collaboration. Additionally, employee presence will also be improved, allowing internal operations to run more effectively.