Windows Phone Thoughts: IDC: European Businesses Preparing for Widespread Mobile Device Deployment in 2005

"Business commitment to mobility and specifically the adoption of mobile devices in Western Europe showed significant progress in 2005, according to recent survey findings from IDC. The lingering economic uncertainty and emphasis on essential hardware renewals that characterized 2003/2004 have been replaced by increasing consideration of mobility as a concept that is central to IT strategy. Business penetration of converged devices (smart phones and telephony-enabled PDAs), handhelds, and wireless networks increased substantially, and indicators further provide an optimistic outlook for adoption over the next 18 months. While the standalone handheld remained the most common hardware element in company mobility strategies, converged devices demonstrated a visible increase in adoption, reinforcing the market's evolution towards converged voice and data solutions."



The topic of converged devices is raised many times in this report, and it's well worth spending a few minutes reading it. Practical mobile solutions appear to be a major looking point for businesses, and with the plan for major WLAN rollouts in 2005 and 2006, it's easy to see why mobility is a key issue to focus on. I believe in the next couple of years, we'll start to see just how "mobile" and "converged" things will get. A single flavour of Windows Mobile appears to be the path being embarked upon, and with time, we may soon see Pocket PCs and Smartphones become one. ;)