Data from the Okta Integration Network, featuring more than 5,500 integrations with web, mobile, and cloud-based apps has revealed new information about the marketplace. According to Okta’s latest study, companies worldwide are investing in tech that prioritise automation, and interoperability.
The fifth annual Businesses @ Work report looks at how organisations and the people within them work in the current digital environment. Okta examined data from a network of thousands of companies to discover a growing demand for diverse functionality in the enterprise. Additionally, the company found more ventures paying closer attention to the importance of security-based apps for 2019. Here’s an insight into some of the main findings from the report.
People Still Aren’t Fully Comfortable with Video
According to Okta’s survey, Skype is currently the most frustrating and stressful app that their respondents use. Not only did 21% of people say they disliked Skype, but only 14% of all respondents said that they feel comfortable using video calls over audio-only conversations. Today’s consumers say that they feel uncomfortable (30%) on video and that being under observation prevents them from multitasking (23%).
For those who do use video, Skype is the best-known app, with 81% of people saying that they’re aware of the tool, compared to only 19% for Zoom, and 34% for Cisco Webex.
Productivity and Collaboration Apps
When it comes to the rising popularity of productivity and collaboration apps, Okta found that Office 365 is still the most popular option. Currently, the app’s popularity is growing by over 55% per year. However, G Suite’s userbase is growing more rapidly than Microsoft’s. Though G Suite grows at 116% year over year, 67% of survey respondents still said that they prefer using Microsoft Word to Google Docs.
For collaboration, Slack ranked as number 5 in Okta’s hierarchy of most popular tool by number of customers. Only 16% of knowledge workers in the study had heard of Slack, and half of those that had heard of it had used it in the past. Additionally, Zoom was the only app to appear both on Okta’s list of the 10 fastest-growing apps (107% growth), and the 15 most popular apps for businesses. Now that respondents have shared their dislike of Skype, it may be that Zoom continues to gain additional market share.
The Rising Demand for Security Apps
Overall, Okta’s study shows a clear trend towards the deployment of more apps over time. Larger companies with more than 2,000 employees use up to 163 apps on average. Additionally, large customers have increased their number of apps by 68% in the last 4 years.
One particularly common focus today is on security tools. As threats around cybersecurity continue to increase, businesses are beginning to aggressively search for solutions in the app marketplace. The new Zero Trust framework is pushing companies away from traditional network strategies, into perimeter-less approaches. Identities and people are the heart of this framework, meaning more companies are looking for tools to protect crucial credentials.
The rise of new regulations may have a part to play in the popularity of security apps too. GDPR threatens heavy fines for people who don’t properly protect and manage data. What’s more, the California Consumer Privacy Act is set to appear in 2020 too.
To see the full Okta report, click here.
