Shipment revenue from Android smartphones used by “mobile business customers” will grow to more than $92 billion globally by the end of 2018 from $54 billion in 2013, as device makers look to drive purchases in this market, according to ABI Research.

According to the research firm, despite a “significant” presence among employees, businesses have not allowed or limited the access of Android devices to enterprise applications and systems.

“Fearing loss of this large, high-margin market segment, Android OEMs have taken it upon themselves to close these security threats by making Android devices more enterprise ready,” said senior analyst, Jason McNicol.

The analyst firm said a mobile device is considered “enterprise ready” when embedded features such as encryption and VPN connectivity can be enabled by enterprise mobility vendors.

“Despite the shortcomings associated with Android, OEMs are leveraging the open platform and using key partnerships to provide not only enhanced security features, but a valuable user experience in enterprise ready devices,” added practice director Dan Shey.