Android, Apple iOS flip consumer, corporate market share
Android dominates the consumer global platform race with nearly 70 percent market share, but in the enterprise Apple's iOS platform dominates. It's a bit of a conundrum for Android, which apparently scares tech executives worried about multiple flavors of the OS and security.
Let's roll the market share stats:
According to Gartner, Android's global share is nearing 70 percent.
In the U.S., ComScore puts Android share at 53.4 percent with Apple iOS at 36.3 percent.
So far so good right? Not for corporations. In the enterprise, using Citrix Zenprise data as a proxy, Android is far from dominant. Apple, which allegedly doesn't give a hoot about the enterprise, dominates.
Here's a look at the Android vs. iOS race in the corporate world based on third quarter Zenprise data. Zenprise is a top 5 mobile device management vendor recently acquired by Citrix.
A few things to note about those standings:
- Android share is trending up and the Asia stats were skewed by a few large iOS deployments.
- iOS market share in the corporate world is fueled by the iPad, which accounted for 57 percent of iOS devices.
- Android is dominant in transportation, health care and communications verticals. iOS leads in education, energy, legal, real estate and insurance.
What's the hangup with Android in the enterprise? A few thoughts:
- CIOs are wary of the different flavors of Android and iOS is easier to secure.
- Apple leads the tablet race so that reality boosts iOS a lot in the corporate market.
- Windows and BlackBerry are likely to retain some market share in corporations and that's going to prevent the Android-iOS duopoly situation seen in the consumer market.
- Security is a concern for Android applications. Blue Coat Systems highlighted the Android risks recently.