Study: BYOD could reduce smartphone sales by $40B by 2016

The growing number of workers that bring their own smartphones into the mobile workplace and have CIOs provision services for them could reduce  smartphones sales by $40 billion by 2016, according to a new study by research firm ARCchart. The study delves into the impact of the bring-your-own device, or BYOD, trend on the wider smartphone market, as consumers increasingly use a single smartphone for both personal and business use.

The ARCchart study is based on a survey of global enterprises, with 65 percent of the corporations confirming that they will have adopted some level of BYOD policy by year-end. According to the report, only 11 percent have no plans for BYOD in the near future.

The study found that top two reasons enterprises are moving ahead with BYOD are cost reduction and staff motivation. However, security, fragmented software, and a rise in support costs remain key concerns.

According to ARCchart, handset vendors such Research In Motion (NASDAQ:RIMM), which has heavily relied on the enterprise segment will need to compensate for the decline in sales by grabbing market share from rivals or by getting more of their revenues with other devices.

Many companies, including RIM, have been moving to accommodate BYOD. In April RIM formally launched its BlackBerry Mobile Fusion product for enterprise customers, which provides mobile device management support for devices running Apple's (NASDAQ:AAPL) iOS and Google's (NASDAQ:GOOG) Android platforms in addition to BlackBerry devices.

Carriers are also trying to make BYOD less of an issue for both consumers and CIOs by making it easier for consumers to have one device for personal and business functions. AT&T Mobility (NYSE:T) earlier this month expanded its Toggle BYOD initiative to help businesses and employees separate work-related mobile data and applications from personal activities. According to AT&T, Toggle is now available across all major mobile operating systems and service providers. Businesses can leverage Toggle to create personal modes and professional modes on employees' smartphones and tablets, designating encrypted work spaces for access to corporate email, approved applications, calendars and related functions.

Additionally, last fall Verizon Wireless (NYSE:VZ) partnered with VMWare to create a similar solution for Android smartphone customers. The solution allows IT departments to securely provision, manage and de-provision enterprise apps and services to an employee's Android device over-the-air, while allowing the employee to retain the privacy and control of their personal smartphone experience.

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