Apple Number One (Barely); Microsoft (Nokia) Improves Most In Smartphone Leadership – ABI Research

The updated Enterprise Smartphone Competitive Assessment from ABI Research concludes that overall, Apple is number one in the category, followed closely by Samsung, with BlackBerry maintaining its third place ranking. The vendor matrix ranks companies based on nineteen criterion spread across two general categories of Implementation and Innovation. Nine smartphone OEMs were compared on criteria such as EMM device activations, workspace management solutions, and partnerships.

The vendor matrix score separating the two industry leaders was less than a single point. Apple continues to receive high marks in Implementation for device activations within EMM solutions and ongoing usage by business professionals. Samsung, on the other hand, received higher marks for Innovation as the company continues to improve the Samsung KNOX platform and offer varying levels of security needs.

BlackBerry maintained its third place ranking, but Microsoft (Nokia) showed the most improvement. While BlackBerry was able to maintain its ranking, lower than expected device shipments hindered the company’s overall score. Microsoft (Nokia), on the other hand, saw a rising number of devices enrolled in EMM programs. Couple this with security updates to the Windows Phone platform enabled the company to improve the overall score significantly.

Senior analyst Jason McNicol comments, “The enterprise smartphone market has intensified in the past six months. Leaders Apple and Samsung have made significant improvements in their device and software offerings making both OEMs more appealing to the enterprise. Apple, however, with its recent announcement with IBM was able to squeeze past Samsung for the number one ranking.”

“Not to be ignored, though, are BlackBerry and Microsoft (Nokia),” says practice director Dan Shey. “Despite the struggles BlackBerry faced last year, the company is still here and proving it can offer a valuable solution. The question though is can it win back lost customers? Microsoft (Nokia), on the other hand, continues to leverage its years of experience in the enterprise to improve upon the Windows Phone platform.”

These findings are part of ABI Research’s Enterprise Mobility Applications, Services, and Devices Market Research (https://www.abiresearch.com/market-research/service/enterprise-mobility-applications-and-services/).

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