ABI Research (www.abiresearch.com) predicts the number of type-1 or type-2 smartphone virtualization activations will grow 20 fold by 2018, exceeding 8 million devices. Worldwide, activation rates will exceed 114% YoY [year-over-year] with North America and Western Europe seeing the greatest number of smartphone activations. The Asia-Pacific region will see the largest growth increasing nearly 50 fold by 2018, or 165% CAGR [compound annual growth rate] growth YoY.

"The mobility management space continues to amaze as it seems new enterprise mobility solutions emerge daily, says ABI Research senior analyst Jason McNicol. "The latest solution now involves virtualization, where a type-1 or type-2 hypervisor is used to create two distinct profiles on the user’s mobile device, work and personal. This kind of virtualization solution provides IT complete control over the enterprise workspace while the personal side remains private."

There have been three providers that have been the most aggressive with virtualization solutions: VMware, Citrix and Red Bend. VMware expanded its smartphone hypervisor offering most recently with Horizon Workspace 1.5, but appreciable shipment volumes will not occur until 2014 on Android devices.
When examining possible MDM solutions, concerns of security, scalability and cost arise. Often times, the most secure options are the most costly and hence less scalable.

"Type-1 and type-2 virtualization solutions have been around for years in the PC/laptop and server markets," says McNicol. "However, only recent technology advancements have permitted the use of virtualization in mobile devices. As this technology gains acceptance over the next few years, enterprises will have yet another workspace management tool available to them for managing devices in a BYOD world."