Corporate America's Going Mobile.

Business/Hi-Tech Editors

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 19, 2000

Corporate America is indeed going mobile, according to Cahners In-Stat Group, a high-tech market research firm.

As the year 2000 marks the rapid extension of the enterprise across multiple boundaries, large firms (1,000 or more employees) are struggling to manage growing numbers of mobile workers, remote branch offices and telecommuters. In-Stat estimates that large firms in the U.S. support nearly 1 million remote office locations around the globe in addition to roughly 5 million telecommuters, an average of 96 locations and more than 450 telecommuters per firm. By 2004, the average large corporation will support approximately 153 remote branch offices and 660 telecommuters.

In order to increase the accessibility of this growing remote workforce, large companies are using wireless devices to keep many employees productive, even while they're on the go. This year, more than 13 million enterprise employees will use wireless phones and other similar devices and by 2004, large firms are expected to employ more than 29 million wireless-enabled workers. According to Kneko Burney, Director of In-Stat's eBusiness Infrastructure & Services, "the nature of enterprise investments in information technology will change as firms are expected to reinforce, if not extend, their central computing resources, likely adding application serving capabilities, like those provided by Citrix Systems. Further, these firms are expected to add more intelligence to their remote office networks allowing for better remote management." Given this, In-Stat expects these firms to become key consumers of both small office networking technologies and application serving infrastructure over the next two years.

In-Stat's findings about large corporations also include:

Nearly 70% of employees have access to the Internet at work and more than 80% of employees have access to their company's network in 2000.

By 2004, 90% of employees will be connected to the corporate network either by the Internet, directly via PCs, or through a growing variety of supply chain/production floor devices.

The report, Economic Profile: Facts & Stats for the Enterprise Market (No. DL0001MS) provides the market demographics and technographics that define the enterprise market, including the number of remote branch offices supported and Internet-accessing telecommuters. To purchase this report or for more information, please visit or call Matt Woods at 617/630-2139; [e-mail]. The report price is $995 USD.

Cahners In-Stat Group ( http://www.instat.com ) covers the full spectrum of digital communications research from vendor to end-user, providing the analysis and perspective that allows technology vendors and service providers worldwide to make more informed business decisions.