AirWatch, part of VMware’s End-User Computing unit, continues to be №1 with a 16.6% market share of the $1.8 billion EMM market in 2015.
The worldwide market for Enterprise Mobility Management (EMM) software and services experienced a substantial growth last year, going from $1.4 billion in 2014 to $1.8 billion in 2015, a 26.9% increase.
According to the report “Worldwide Enterprise Mobility Management Software Market Shares, 2015” by IDC, most players experienced sales increases, with the sole exception of BlackBerry (including Good Technology), which suffered a revenue loss of 4.7%, down to $258m from $271m in 2014 (in 2014 BlackBerry sold $134m and Good Technology $137m). VMware’s EMM revenue, however, rose 83.8% from $161m in 2014 to $296m last year. Nevertheless, BlackBerry remains the second largest player in the EMM market with a 14.4% market share.
Competition is increasing in this already crowded market, and some consolidation is already happening. Last year’s acquisition of Good Technology by BlackBerry, which has its own BES platform, and VMware acquisition of Boxer, indicates that vendors are looking for complementary solutions to expand and consolidate their product offerings.
Also companies such as Microsoft and IBM are experiencing a significant increase in their revenues in EMM. While their offerings are mostly solutions to their customer base, their sales grew much higher than the average and last year Microsoft and IBM cashed $136m (7.6%) and $116m (6.5%) in EMM services, respectively.
The EMM market is experiencing a significant shift as enterprises are installing more connected devices besides the typical smartphones, tablets and laptops. Many vendors are already supporting other types of IoT systems such as vending machines, wireless cameras, control systems and other technologies that need to be managed and secured.
[Read IM Surges In Enterprise, But Ushers In Security Concerns]
Smartwatches are now becoming a serious concern, too. Security experts argue that it’s fairly easy to listen to these devices because they use unencrypted Bluetooth low energy communication. A device costing less than $200 to make can tap into a nearby smartwatch and listen to all the traffic between the device and a smartphone.
That is why EMM companies are implementing several layers of security to IoT devices and some already have specific apps for popular ones, such as the Apple Watch. The increase in market share of those devices is likely to increase the demand for EMM solutions further and in 2016 vendors could experience double digit percent revenue growth on their solutions.
This is one area where AirWatch could grow more and consolidate its leadership. The synergies it can leverage as part of VMware, now part of the new Dell-EMC group, will undoubtedly help the company reach new markets. And AirWatch is actively supporting and developing solutions for wearables and IoT.
I had the opportunity to talk with Ian Evans, VP VMware EMEA End-User Computing. He said: “The fact that 60% of large organisations say they want an integrated endpoint management solution at some level validates our one cloud, any application and any device strategy. This strategy is enabling businesses and end users to gain the greatest benefit from a portfolio of devices and applications that are increasingly diverse. And, with enterprise mobility and BYOD becoming widely prevalent, CIOs are under increasing pressure to balance the consumer simplicity expectations of end users with the enterprise security expectations of the business.”
A key development this year is the push for standardization. According to IDG, the EMM market is now seeing a true standardization effort across vendors, as seen recently at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) with the introduction of the AppConfig Community, led by IBM, JAMF Software, MobileIron and VMware. AppConfig will help vendors leverage app configuration and management in iOS and Android devices. This continues the effort initiated by VMware last year in MWC 2015 when it launched the App Configuration for Enterprise (ACE) consortium.
There is no doubt that the EMM market will continue to grow significantly in the next few years. The addition of IoT devices, smart wearables and technologies such as VR will demand more robust security, management and certification of mobile devices. Vendors will probably need to collaborate more, between themselves and with many other players in the mobile industry, such as network vendors, device manufacturers and cellular carriers.
AirWatch Consolidates EMM Leadership in Latest IDC Report
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