More mobile devices and accelerating AI development are putting pressure on companies

SOTI's A new global report shows that businesses face tough challenges as the number of mobile devices and IoT systems increases dramatically, while AI-driven digitalization accelerates. Without strategic mobility management, businesses risk losing control over both operational reliability and efficiency. 

SOTI's new report The Mobility Mandate: Navigating Device Chaos & Strategic Automation in a New Digital Era, Based on 7,300 respondents in 11 countries, the study maps how businesses in areas such as transportation and logistics, healthcare, and emergency services, as well as other businesses with geographically dispersed workforces, are increasingly relying on mobile technology to increase operational efficiency, improve safety, and reduce downtime.

The rapid growth of mobile devices and IoT systems is creating an increasingly complex ecosystem for business IT and security departments to manage, while work on AI- and automation-driven digitalization is intensifying.

The report identifies five trends shaping the future of enterprise mobility:

1. Tailored mobility – Businesses need to adapt technology to roles and workflows, not the other way around. In retail and transportation and logistics, for example, it is common for employees to share devices, which requires role-based lockdown profiles that only grant access to the apps and features required for each task. With real-time monitoring and automated policies, devices can also be locked if they leave a defined geographic area or pass outside approved security zones, which both strengthens security and reduces the risk of operational disruptions.

2. Proactive intelligence replaces reactive troubleshooting –Only 54 % of personnel in the field have access to support in real time. This means that the majority of incidents are still handled only after a problem has already occurred, which prolongs downtime, burdens the support organization and, in many cases, affects the customer experience. This shows the increasing need for AI-powered systems that can predict and prevent disruptions, rather than just deal with them after the fact.

3. Outdated technology threatens development – 97% of healthcare organizations globally report that they are still using outdated systems. In Sweden, the figure is even higher: 98%. At the same time, 57% of healthcare organizations globally (55% in Sweden) state that outdated technology increases vulnerability to security-related incidents.

4. Downtime becomes too expensive – Within the rescue service, 92 % states on global level that they experience technological problems at least once a week – and each incident means an average of 21 minutes of downtime. In Sweden, employees lose in transport and logistics an average of 3.6 hours per week on device and app-related issues. A quarter (24 %) say they lose more than five hours per week – one of the highest figures across Europe. In mission-critical operations, every minute counts and inefficient device management has direct consequences for productivity, security and delivery.

5. Mobility becomes key to long-term resilience and sustainability – Visibility and control over all aspects of the business units become crucial to secure operational activities, reduce environmental impact and scale sustainably.

– Mobility is no longer just an issue for the IT department but an overall and business-critical infrastructure issue. When AI and automation is developing at record speed, it is necessary for businesses to have full control over all digital devices in real time – otherwise you risk both operational disruptions, security problems and falling behind the competition. The businesses that take a holistic approach to mobility now will be the ones that can fully benefit from the new technological opportunities, says Stefan Spendrup, Head of Northern and Western Europe at SOTI.

The report highlights the need to move from piecemeal efforts to a cohesive mobility strategy that provides full transparency, robust security and automation throughout the lifecycle.

Download the full report: soti.net/resources/research-hub