Booming Mobile Business Data Growth Likely To Slow, Report ClaimsBooming Mobile Business Data Growth Likely To Slow, Report Claims

Revenue for mobile business applications will continue to be robust, but perhaps not robust enough to meet the optimistic forecasts of many mobile industry experts, according to a report released Tuesday by In-Stat.

Noting that mobile business application growth was near the 50% mark between 2006 and 2007, the market research firm said its surveys reveal that the growth will likely slow to 44% from 2007 to 2008.

The discrepancy between the hoped-for growth number and the actual growth figures is explained by decision-makers expecting more business than what they can actually implement, In-Stat suggested.

"As business users approach saturation for horizontal mobile data applications, most of the growth potential remains for vertical market applications," said In-Stat analyst Bill Hughes in a statement. "These require more planning and time to implement. The result is that many within the wireless industry may have overoptimistic forecasts."

In-Stat's research also found that mobile data application penetration among companies increased to 94% from 75% in 2007 while smartphone use increased 34% between 2006 and 2007.

The research company noted that horizontal applications including e-mail, wireless Internet access, wireless instant messaging and persona information management (PIM) represent the highest penetration among business users because they are easy to implement.

While the mobile enterprise market is expected to undergo strong growth in the next few years, its growth rates will still lag those of mobile business data growth. In-Stat noted some business decision makers may be slightly misled because they are basing their opinions on the literal reading of end-user survey data.