IDC: One Third of Global Workforce Will Be Mobile by 2015

By Jessica Binns, Contributing Editor
A recent International Data Corp. (IDC) report estimates that in the next three years, mobile workers which IDC divides the mobile workforce into three categories: office-based mobile workers, non-office-based mobile field workers, and home-based mobile workers, will increase worldwide to more than one-third (37.2 percent) of the global workforce. Between 2010 and 2015, IDC expects the number of mobile workers in the Americas -- including mobile workers in Central and South America -- to increase by 16 percent, from 182.5 million to 212.1 million.

A survey of 300 information-based workers across the UK, France and Germany found that 52 percent admitted they would access a network insecurely while working remotely. Researchers said 82 percent of UK respondents knew the risks they were running and 90 percent said it was important to work securely. Rich Campagna, who oversees security products for Juniper Networks (JNPR) suggests "automatic procedures" instead of expecting employees to make wise security choices for themselves.

Companies have stepped up with solutions in recent years due to the increase in mobile workers; GoToMyPC which is owned by Citrix (CTXS) allows users to log into computers remotely and has been adopted by many telecommuters to access a work computer from a multitude of different devices. Global Investment Holdings has also recently announced its GlobalLOK software program is being targeted at the growing telecommuting population by allowing a user's computer to be remotely monitored or controlled.