We all know that mobile use is on the rise, particularly in the case of smartphones, which beat feature phone shipments in the third quarter, according to Strategy Analytics. As such, many offerings typically found on an office PC are now making their way to mobile devices and finding great success. Take, for example, mobile workforce management.
According to a new research report from Berg Insight, the number of smartphone-based workforce management services in Europe and North America is expected to grow at a steady rate over the next few years. Specifically, the number of mobile workforce management users is expected to jump from 0.8 million in 2012 to almost 2.5 million by 2018 with a compound annual growth rate of 21 percent.
Industries expected to lead this trend toward mobile workforce management include construction, distribution, healthcare and “companies with extensive field service operations.” However, any small to medium-sized company can experience benefits by implementing a workforce management app, as such solutions don’t require the resources that a full workforce management suite demands.
"Companies and organizations in many parts of the world are also gradually adopting lone worker protection solutions to comply with occupational safety regulations and reduce employee insurance costs," said Andr Malm, senior analyst at Berg Insight, in a statement. He went on to add that lone worker protection services tend to rely on dedicated GPS location devices that feature alarm buttons and man down detection sensors.
Family locator services is the largest segment among people monitoring and safety solutions, however, as many parents have realized that any smartphone with dedicated cellular or GPS access can be used as a locator device. There were around 30 million active users of family locator and location sharing apps in Europe and North America by the end of the second quarter of this year, according to Berg Insight’s estimates.
Edited by
Stefania Viscusi
QUICK LINKS 
