Methodology & Sources
This page documents how the large-enterprise device-dependency rankings were derived, including definitions, estimation methodology, and all cited sources.
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Rank 20 major large-enterprise industries by device-based MFA reach — the share of workers who have a company-issued or personal device that can run an MFA authenticator. Industries with the lowest office/desk share (highest frontline share) appear first, because those are where traditional device-based MFA covers the smallest portion of the workforce.
Definitions
Field / Frontline Worker
Deskless employees whose primary work is on a store floor, plant floor, construction site, rig, field route, vehicle, patient room, classroom, or similar — and who typically do NOT have a dedicated company-issued computing device suitable for device-bound MFA.
Office / Desk Worker
Employees with a dedicated workstation (laptop or desktop) and typically a company email account and company-managed device — the population that device-based MFA can actually reach.
Device MFA Reach
Equal to the Office / Desk percentage. This is the ceiling for how much of the workforce can be protected by device-bound MFA without adopting alternate factors.
How the Percentages Were Derived
1. Industry list: Based on large-enterprise industry categories (2025 revenue-ranked U.S. company lists) cross-referenced with public company databases. Industries were consolidated where sources use multiple narrow codes.
2. Field vs. office splits: Research-backed estimates anchored to published studies of the deskless workforce from enterprise venture capital research, global strategy consultancies, industry analyst firms, employee experience platforms, higher-education research labs, and workforce communications platforms.
3. Large-enterprise adjustment: Large-enterprise companies tend to have somewhat larger corporate HQ functions than the industry average, so office percentages are nudged upward 2–5 points from raw industry deskless ratios.
4. Special cases:Government/Military and K-12/Higher Ed are included as reference categories (not large-enterprise commercial). Aerospace & Defense and Government/Military are device-restricted for security reasons (SCIFs, classified areas) rather than economic ones.
Confidence & Caveats
These percentages are estimates at the industry level, not audited company counts. Actual splits vary significantly within an industry (e.g., a pure-play e-commerce retailer is far more office-heavy than a grocery chain, yet both are “Retail”). For a production roadmap, validate per target account using LinkedIn Sales Navigator employee function filters, 10-K employee disclosures, or direct discovery calls.
Full Industry Data
| # | Industry | Representative Companies | Field % | Office % | MFA Reach | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Food Services & Restaurants | Global QSR & casual-dining chains | 95% | 5% | 5% | Store crews, line cooks, servers — no corporate device at shift level. |
| 2 | Hospitality & Lodging | International hotel groups & resorts | 93% | 7% | 5% | Housekeeping, front desk, F&B, maintenance — mostly shared terminals. |
| 3 | Specialty & General Retail | Big-box, grocery, home-improvement & specialty retailers | 92% | 8% | 7% | Store associates, cashiers, stockers. ~90% field pattern is typical. |
| 4 | Construction & Engineering | Global engineering & construction firms | 90% | 10% | 8% | Crews, site supervisors, equipment operators — shared tablets at best. |
| 5 | Agriculture & Food Production | Major food processors & agribusiness | 90% | 10% | 10% | Plant-floor processors, farm workers, drivers. |
| 6 | Transportation & Logistics | Parcel carriers, freight, rail & logistics operators | 88% | 12% | 10% | Drivers, warehouse, rail/port crews. Handhelds issued but not full MFA devices. |
| 7 | Oil, Gas & Energy Services | Integrated oil majors & oilfield services | 85% | 15% | 12% | Rig, refinery, pipeline, field service techs. Intrinsically-safe device limits. |
| 8 | Manufacturing (Industrial & Heavy) | Heavy-equipment & industrial conglomerates | 85% | 15% | 15% | Plant-floor operators, maintenance, QA — clean-room/safety device restrictions. |
| 9 | Automotive Manufacturing | Global automakers & EV producers | 85% | 15% | 15% | Plant workers, body shop, paint, assembly — locker policies for phones. |
| 10 | Healthcare Delivery (Providers) | Hospital systems, clinics & pharmacy chains | 82% | 18% | 15% | Nurses, techs, pharmacy, home health. Shared workstations + badge auth typical. |
| 11 | Utilities (Electric, Gas, Water) | Investor-owned power & utility operators | 80% | 20% | 18% | Lineworkers, meter readers, plant operators. Ruggedized but limited fleet. |
| 12 | Airlines & Air Transport | Legacy & low-cost passenger carriers | 78% | 22% | 20% | Pilots, cabin crew, ramp, gate, maintenance. EFBs issued but not universal MFA. |
| 13 | Aerospace & Defense | Prime defense contractors & aircraft OEMs | 70% | 30% | 25% | Factory floor + classified areas restrict personal devices; smart cards common. |
| 14 | Telecommunications | National wireless & broadband carriers | 68% | 32% | 30% | Field techs, installers, call center agents, retail stores. |
| 15 | Pharmaceutical & Biotech | Global pharma manufacturers & biotechs | 60% | 40% | 32% | Manufacturing + lab + large sales force; R&D and HQ heavily office-based. |
| 16 | Media & Entertainment | Studios, streamers & live entertainment | 55% | 45% | 40% | Parks, studios, broadcast crews vs. corporate, creative, and IT. |
| 17 | Insurance | P&C, life & multi-line insurance carriers | 25% | 75% | 45% | Mostly underwriters, claims, actuarial, customer service — device-equipped. |
| 18 | Legal & Professional Services | Big-four audit, consulting & advisory firms | 22% | 78% | 78% | Mostly knowledge workers; court staff, process servers, and contract workers at client sites create gaps. |
| 19 | Banking & Financial Services | Money-center banks & investment firms | 18% | 82% | 82% | Mostly desk-based; branch tellers on shared terminals and third-party vendors pull coverage down. |
| 20 | Software & Cloud Technology | Hyperscale cloud & enterprise SaaS | 15% | 85% | 88% | Highest MFA reach of any industry. Data center techs, facilities staff, and contractors still create a 12% gap. |
Sources
Fortune 500 — The largest companies in the U.S. by revenue. 2025 edition, published June 2, 2025.
“List of largest companies in the United States by revenue” (2025 edition).
“The State of Technology for the Deskless Workforce 2020.” Survey of 1,532 deskless workers, published Dec 15, 2020.
“Making Work Work Better for Deskless Workers.” Survey of 4,668 deskless workers across France, Germany, the U.K., and the U.S., published Dec 15, 2022.
“What Is a Deskless Worker?” — definition entry in Simpplr's employee-experience glossary.
“Empowering Deskless Workers for Economic Mobility.” Research from Western Governors University Labs on deskless-workforce skills development and economic mobility.
“Deskless Workers — Overcoming Challenges to Drive Productivity.” Workforce-communications-platform research on engagement and productivity gaps in the deskless segment.
Links open in a new tab. Date references reflect the original publication; figures cited above are aggregated and adjusted as described in How the Percentages Were Derived.