Five Predictions for the Connected Enterprise in 2014

In August, we published five tips for effectively managing enterprise connection points. According to Tangoe, as we move into 2014, we’ll see a shift in the composition of current enterprise communications based upon the emergence of new connection points, such as social and machine-to-machine.

Organizations are beginning to understand how they can harness the power of the connected enterprise to increase productivity and innovation by embracing the potential of various enterprise connection points and effectively managing their complexity within the communications environment. As a result, we will see five trends in enterprise communications emerge in 2014.

Click through for five enterprise communication trends expected in 2014, as identified by Tangoe.

Social

Driven largely by employees’ use of mobile devices for both professional and personal use, in 2014 enterprises will increasingly embrace social technologies for chat, collaboration, discussion boards, etc. In order to manage social connections, enterprises will need solutions that improve organizational and individual interaction, effectiveness, efficiency, and productivity.

Cloud

The cloud will continue to drive changes within the enterprise in 2014. Mobile consumption will move toward OTT (over-the-top) transactions via apps, and enterprises will be challenged by the fact that many of these transactions will go unmetered. Enterprises need to begin measuring this connection type so that they can be aware of which OTT apps are being used, how they are being used,  what the consumption patterns look like, how testing is done over these data pipes, how voice is being driven, etc. Only then can enterprises use this information to optimize their organization.

Machine

While the space of managing machine deployments (similar to enterprises’ management of the lifecycle of mobile devices) may initially appear small, Gartner expects machine expenditures to grow at 23 percent versus only a 1.7 CAGR percent growth in traditional telecom expenditures over the next few years. It’s clear that machine-to-machine is an emerging connection point that will further impact the enterprise in 2014.

Mobile

The influx of mobile devices into the enterprise will only continue to increase in 2014.  Gartner recently reported that BYOD programs are doubling or even tripling the size of the mobile workforce.  As mobile devices begin to be relied upon more within the enterprise, mobility support requirements will increase as well. 

Fixed

While the connection points highlighted previously will be the big buzz in 2014, it’s important not to forget the infrastructure backbone of the enterprise — fixed connections — which range from phone lines to Big Data. Even with predictions that fixed will be overtaken by mobile in the near-term, organizations need to utilize their fixed assets strategically to ensure long-term success.

The enterprise communications environment will only become more complex during the new year. But, by leveraging an integrated solution to manage connections, enterprises can benefit from increased efficiency and innovation.