The Opportunity for Enterprise Femto

Released: 2011-06-13
Changes in Today's Enterprise
NEWS
The average enterprise today is going through what can be classified as a major revolution. The
traditional top- down leakage of highly controlled technology roll- outs has been turned on its
head. The emergence of generation X into the workspace has resulted in what has been coined
the consumerization of the enterprise.
The way people access critical corporate process and data is diversifying. Business line
applications are no longer reliant upon tightly controlled platforms but can be accessed from off-
the-shelf consumer products. Just look at email support on mobile platforms today. Not only are
the methods of communication changing, but the software platforms and hardware being used
are evolving rapidly too. What was important yesterday - Firewalls, PBX and solid old iron
telecoms concepts - has been replaced with the Cloud, enterprise social networking, and
applications.
Consumerization and Mobilization of the Workforce
IMPACT
More importantly, the consumerization of the enterprise can also be categorized as the
mobilization of the workforce. More people than ever are accessing corporate data via
smartphones, (See Chart 1, excerpted from ABI Research's recent Enterprise Mobility Survey).
Many of these phones are owned by the user entirely or have part of their bills paid by the
employer.
Chart 1: Have Access to Corporate or Customer Information from Mobile Phone?
Source: ABI Research
ST-BMO-101 (2 /08); ST-BMO-102 (8/09); ST-BMO-103 (12/10)
This is just the beginning. There is a rapid diversity of devices which is now being extended in
the tablet domain. At the same time, types of information being accessed on devices is evolving.
(See Chart 2 below which is excerpted from our recent Enterprise Mobility Survey). It is clear
that mobility will be the foundation of the next generation of businesses.
Chart 2: Uses Feature Once a Day or More Often
Source: ABI Research
ST-BMO-101 (2 /08); ST-BMO-102 (8/09); ST-BMO-103 (12/10)
Note: Bases vary by those who use each feature
Who'll Grasp the Opportunity?
COMMENTARY
There is a golden goose egg ready to be gathered. The average CIO is being faced with
numerous issues and multiple solutions in a highly fractured environment. Who should the
service provider be? What OS should the company support? Who will integrate the company's
solution? Who will manage the solution? The real opportunity for the Femto community, carriers
and vendors alike, is to simplify the equation for the CIOs.
The Femto community is not alone in targeting the burgeoning enterprise opportunity; it faces
stiff competition from other technologies. Wi-Fi is embedded in the workspace and is familiar to
IT managers worldwide. Femto needs to have some key differentiators to either displace or, as
we see at ABI Research, be seen as a viable complimentary option for current Wi- Fi
installations. Luckily some trump cards can be played:
1) The key to mobility is QoS. Femto provides the best in-building signal and QoS. Especially in
view of the rise of video based communications.
2) Security . There are numerous security concerns for opening the Enterprise to consumer
devices. For example, rogue AP from AP-enabled Wi-Fi smartphones can be negated by having
the Wi-Fi switched off in the enterprise environment.
3) Bandwidth and capacity. When we move to LTE or even HSPA+, the average throughput
will rival, if not surpass the average Enterprise Wi- Fi solution. 11n won't have the antenna
diversity in devices so that can be counted out.
4) Cost Saving and Integration. Femto can provide a proven path to reducing the need for
desk phones and the integration of iPBX functionality in the product suite makes the CIO's life
simpler.
5) Simplicity. As an enterprise, rolling out a VoWi-Fi solution requires planning your network.
An enterprise has two choices, do it yourself or get a lead integrator to do it. Either way, the roll-
out is not as cheap or simple as offloading that responsibility to a mobile carrier who is deeply
incentivized to win business off of incumbents. Better still, provide a true zero truck roll product.
In summary, there is a sweet-spot for Femto.
The 5-99 employee market in small buildings is underserved from in- building solutions; less
than 1% of these locations is currently served by in- building wireless solutions. The 5-99
employee market is also the second largest category in terms of its use of mobile enterprise
applications.
The OEM Femto community must provide a simple, fully-functioned solution so that carriers can
use good quality wireless solutions. Femto should be used by carriers as a lead into winning
enterprise customers that can blossom into a fuller relationship that includes additional VAS
revenue streams.