The development of technologies including 5G, artificial intelligence (AI), blockchain and IoT will transform the mobile enterprise app market, as growth in the mobile workforce also provides a boost, Strategy Analytics stated.

By 2023, the mobile enterprise app market will be worth $140 billion as the mobile workforce increases in numbers to 1.88 billion people, the research house said.

Gina Luk, principal analyst of mobile workforce strategies, said: “Workers’ appetites for mobile applications are increasing; they expect to have mobile access to business applications beyond email and voice. There is real demand for B2B and B2C mobile apps, web apps and apps connecting “things” such as sensors and devices.”

Luk said the real value lies in linking mobile devices to existing corporate ERP systems and databases for business processes such as customer relationship management, sales force automation and field force automation: “Ubiquitous access to this information, irrespective of the platform, is not only transforming how users access information, but also how businesses collect and leverage valuable data.”

Strategy Analytics said 5G will deliver a fully wireless, cloud-based office, with unified communications apps more reliably and consistently available.