In enterprise, Android makes gains, but iOS still leads
Apple's iOS mobile operating system continues to lead in the enterprise, but Google's rival Android operating system is catching up.
Usage of Android smartphones in the enterprise nearly doubled in the second quarter of this year, according to a new report from Good Technology. Google Android-based smartphone and tablets together captured 36.9 percent of total activations in the enterprise.
Samsung's Galazy SII led the charge, followed by Motorola's Droid Razr at 4.6 percent and 3.2 percent of all activations, respectively. Android on the whole grew 10 percent, quarter over quarter.
Apple nonetheless retains a considerable lead. Device activations for Apple iOS devices in the enterprise still account for more than twice that of Android, according to the report, led by the latest smartphone model, the iPhone 4S.
To give you a sense of the competition, Apple's original iPad (the device is now on its third generation) and iPhone 3S (the third generation of five so far) were still being activated more than all Android devices save for the Galaxy SII and Droid Razr.
Here's how the playing field looks:
As you can see in the chart above, Apple's latest devices -- the iPhone 4S and iPad 3 -- far and away led mobile device activations in the enterprise. (The iPhone 4S accounted for almost 31 percent of all mobile device activations in the enterprise last quarter.)
Interestingly, tablets have not quite taken off in the enterprise as quickly as you might expect. Smartphone activations still outnumbered tablet activations three to one, according to the report. (The OS split in tablets is also lopsided: Android, 5.5 percent; iOS, 94.5 percent.)
Things to watch include Microsoft's Windows Phone operating system, which accounted for 1.2 percent of overall activations in the second quarter. "This number may grow in future quarters with the rollout of Windows 8 and the introduction of additional Windows Phone devices," Good says.
Finally, select industries are increasingly embracing mobile devices in the enterprise. In the second quarter, the public sector increased its market share -- so to speak -- of enterprise mobile device activations from five to eight percent; manufacturing increased from four to seven percent; and retail increased from three to five percent.