IT Management Obstacles in a Fragmented Smartphone Market

By John Herrema

The days of being able to categorize a mobile device as either “for business” or “for consumers” are vanishing. Over the past few years, and especially with the launch of the game-changing iPhone, enterprises are seeing increased demand among users for access to messaging, PIM, Intranet and other “business” applications via the mobile device of their choice. These users are at the forefront of a broader mobility trend that will lead to a shift in how enterprises connect and collaborate both internally and externally.

As organizations increasingly depend on a user's ability access corporate information from anywhere and at all times, employees are demanding the ability to do so reliably from the device they are most comfortable using. Based on this new and increasing demand, combined with economic pressures, many organizations are now allowing employees to choose their own mobile devices and service plans versus having the corporation make those decisions for them. As a result of this trend toward "individual liability," CIOs and IT managers are facing both opportunities and challenges, including great potential for reduced costs and higher productivity, but also increased management and security burdens and risks as their overall mobile deployments grow and become more heterogeneous. 

According to a recent Forrester report by Analyst Ted Schadler, "in this era of Technology Populism, where consumer IT is often better than enterprise IT, it sometimes just makes sense to give employees the freedom to chose the tools they want." Unfortunately, there are still many organizations that are stuck in supporting a single mobile system, despite the fact that device makers are also becoming more competitive in the enterprise market. 

According to Gartner, by "2010, 50 percent of enterprises will have migrated away from tactical mobile application silos (supporting a single application) to strategic platforms capable of supporting multiple applications, managing devices and securing data and transport." The struggle to support multiple mobile systems in one enterprise is a concern for enterprise IT managers; however, it is their reality nonetheless.

Mobile communication is changing, and corporations are finding that they need to future-proof their organizations by allowing multiple mobile devices to be used for business needs. These devices, from a variety of vendors and based on a variety of operating systems, do not have a consistent management and security framework. Consequently, the IT manager needs some way to consistently, easily, and cost-effectively secure and manage this plethora of mobile devices.

Security

At the forefront of concerns among enterprise IT managers and C-level executives is security of smartphone devices.  Losing a single smartphone or having its security compromised can leave an organization vulnerable to data breaches including financial records, corporate sales reports, business proposals, email messages and passwords, any of which can lead to significant business losses or even legal exposure.  A comprehensive mobile solution should provide for end-to-end security encompassing all mobile devices, and IT mangers must have the tools they need to prevent unauthorized use of corporate networks, applications, and the data stored on users' devices.   This goes beyond being able to wipe devices or set PIN policies and must include the ability to reliably encrypt data at rest and to immediately know when a user's device has been replaced and needs to be decommissioned.

Security policies must also be continually updated, without end user intervention, to remain useful and compliant.  Without a solution that supports multiple devices and allows for over-the-air distribution of software and related policies, IT managers need to individually set-up and manage each device or rely on end users to do so, which results in downtime, increases manual labor and time, and creates compliance issues.

Manageability

Any solution that is easy to deploy and manage is more likely to succeed when compared with more complex options. Consistently managing and tracking a large number of mobile devices connected to a corporate network can be a difficult task for IT staffers.  IT managers, now more than ever, need the ability to manage, set policies, maintain visibility and receive detail device status, all from a centralized location.   This includes the option, based on IT-defined policies, to enable end users to "self serve" and manage and trouble-shoot their own devices without requiring direct IT intervention.

Why Adopt a Single Platform for Multiple Devices?

Increased mobile device diversity and rapid adoption are apparent, and so are demands and preferences for device choice from employees.  Mobility gives you more flexibility with your day and time, and increases business and personal productivity, and users are embracing that.

Multiple device adoption among the enterprise is inevitable, so corporations need to invest in a centrally managed mobility solution that works on any device that their employees choose. Addressing employees mobile needs while also finding a solution that manages and secures a broad range of devices alleviates IT management burden and end-user fatigue, maximizing security and increasing productivity in a solution that benefits all parties.