According to research conducted by Good Technology, a mobile security solutions provider based in the US, Apple is still leading when it comes to mobility, although its hold is slowly ebbing away. Good Technology has been monitoring mobile device activations in enterprises and it recently published its findings through a mid-year report.
In their research, Good Technology suggested that two thirds (67%) of all activations during the second quarter of the year belong to iPhones and iPads -- all Apple devices. Although Apple still enjoys a sizable lead, the report said that it's actually down five percent in the last quarter. Android, which currently holds 32% of the total activations, is the one showing signs of growth. Rounding up the competition is Microsoft's Windows Phone whose 1% share has remained virtually unchanged over the last 15 months. As for BlackBerry activations, Good Technology is quick to note that they did not include figures for those due to the fact that they take place in BlackBerry servers.
The data presented in the report enforces the notion that smartphone is the clear-cut mobile device of choice today. Case in point -- there were three times as many iPhone activations as there were iPad activations. As for Android, the difference in number is even more pronounced -- only 1 out of 10 Android users are tablet users, the rest use smartphones. And looking at the overall tablet usage -- iPads account for a whopping 90% of the total.
All things considered, Apple should have no cause for worry, even with the 5% dip in share of device activations. And with their recent partnership with IBM, they should be in a good position to sell more iPhones and iPads at the same time be able to create more iOS-compatible enterprise apps.
It's a different story for Microsoft though. As Apple and Google continue to establish solid usage share, Microsoft is struggling to even gain a foothold. While it has made good strides with the way it has developed Windows Phone 8.1, it may need to take even bigger steps in order to remain competitive with Apple and Google in the years to come.
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