Abstract
The mobile data applications that businesses use to enhance productivity and increase customer satisfaction contribute a substantial amount to the profitability of the wireless industry. Over the past decade, the growth of these applications has been phenomenal, growing at a rate roughly doubling each year.
Now that horizontal applications are approaching saturation, the more complicated vertical market applications offer the greatest opportunity for growth. However, these applications take more time and resources to implement. The result is that the overall wireless data revenue will grow at just over 50% in 2007, and at a 30% CAGR over the next five years.
This is still solid growth by any historical measure. The way that the wireless industry can get into trouble is to ignore the past challenges that earlier mobile data efforts have had and to take survey data about the adoption of these applications literally. This report examines this phenomenon with the objective of providing context for interpreting user data in a profitable way.
Table of Contents
- Executive Summary
- Introduction
- Use of Wireless Data Applications
- Vertical Markets and Wireless Data Use
- The Effect of the Size of Business on Wireless Data Use
- Year-to-Year Comparison
- Plans vs. Reality for Wireless Data Applications
- Choosing a Wireless Data Service Provider
- Budgets and Forecasts
- Conclusions
- Methodology
- Survey Demographics
- Glossary
- Related In-Stat Reports
List of Tables
- Table 1. Forecast for Mobile Data Applications among US Business (2005 2011)
List of Figures
- Figure 1. Growth of Mobile Data Applications in 2006 and 2007 by US Businesses
- Figure 2. Ratio of Mobile Data Applications Planned to those Actually Executed among US Businesses
- Figure 3. Degree of Deployment and Planning for Mobile Data Application
- Figure 4. Penetration of Mobile Data Applications from 2005 to 2007 among US Businesses
- Figure 5. Growth of Mobile Data Applications in 2006 and 2007 by US Businesses
- Figure 6. Current and Planned Wireless Data Applications in 2007 among US Businesses
- Figure 7. Perceived Benefits of Mobile Data among US Users (Multiple Answers Allowed)
- Figure 8. Mobile Data Penetration by Vertical Market
- Figure 9. Ranges of Adoption of Mobile Data Applications
- Figure 10. Penetration Rates of Mobile Data Applications based upon the Size of the Business
- Figure 11. Mobile Data Applications by Size of Business among US Businesses
- Figure 12. Penetration of Mobile Data Applications from 2005 through 2007 among US Businesses
- Figure 13. Penetration of Mobile Data Applications from 2005 to 2007 among US Businesses
- Figure 14. Plans by US Business in 2007 to Add More Mobile Data Applications
- Figure 15. Plans to Add Additional Mobile Data Applications by Vertical Market
- Figure 16. Mobile Data Applications Planned in 2005 Compared to Applications Executed by 2006
- Figure 17. Mobile Data Applications Planned in 2006 Compared to Applications Executed by 2007
- Figure 18. Ratio of Mobile Data Applications Planned to those Actually Executed among US Businesses
- Figure 19. Planned Wireless Data Applications in 2006 and 2007 among US Businesses
- Figure 20. Desired Attributes of a Mobile Data Operator among US Business Users (Three Answers Allowed)
- Figure 21. Percentage of US Business Respondents Citing Price as a Top Three Consideration (by Size of Business)
- Figure 22. Size of Business among Respondents
- Figure 23. Verticals Markets of the Business that Employ the Survey Respondent
- Figure 24. Job Titles of Respondents

