Get Ready for 1 Billion Smartphones by 2016, Forrester Says

In just four years, one billion people will own smartphones, many of whom will be professionals taking these devices to work, says Forrester, a research company. And because of that, businesses need to think big about how to use mobile products to engage with customers, the company says. Forrester estimated that by 2016, 350 million workers will use smartphones — 200 million of whom will take their own devices to the workplace. By that year, consumer spending in the mobile app market will amount to $56 billion, and business spending on mobile projects will have doubled, the study found.

When smartphones are in the hands of a billion customers, that’s not just a trend. That’s a moment that requires a huge rethink in how companies do business and build products. That’s the upshot of the study, which looks at the trends in mobile and their implications as CIOs and businesses adapt to this new form of personal engagement with users via mobile devices. Forrester forecast that one out of every three dollars spent in the tech economy will be mobile by 2016.