I just stumbled across an interesting article over at PC World talking about Motorola's forthcoming enterprise mobility plans. I actually had the pleasure of meeting Motorola's Brian Havener at CTIA who shared the information you can read in the article, as well as other forthcoming plans that I can't share because of all those crazy NDA rules. Regardless, the information that has been disclosed addresses some of the two biggest issues that have been on my mind for a long time for both Good and Symbol. 1) How does Good (and others for that matter) compete with Microsoft when Redmond provides push email solutions for free and 2) How does Motorola's enterprise division find a way out of the consumer division's grey cloud?
If you don't have the time (or the patience) to read the entire article, the short version is that Motorola wants the Good platform to become the enabler for managing more than just mobile devices, but also other devices and infrastructure that is provided by Symbol. Here's a quick quote from the article:
Good's product comprises two pieces: the e-mail client and the back-end server. In the next release, expected to become available in a couple months, the server will have many more management and security features, he said. It will support other mobile applications in addition to e-mail and will allow IT administrators to secure and manage devices as they operate over cellular networks and Wi-Fi networks.
Bottom line, I think this is a Good Thing (Hey, I haven't made a bad punn in ages!) I've had the privilege of working with the people at Good for over 18 months and while they have always had a solid product, developed by equally capable people, I always struggled with how they would be able in the long run to compete with Microsoft's plans for mobile devices. I look at this move as the first of many to turn the Good platform into a mobile application server solution. As Good and Symbol continue to combine forces and develop a hollistic solution for managing not only mobile devices, but also the applications that run on those devices, they will be able to provide a viable solution for enterprises that continue to invest in mobile solutions, whether they be on the shop floor, out in the field or even in the carpeted environment.
One of the last comments in the article is particularly exciting to me - the notion that Good is planning on creating solutions for integrating their mobile client with PBX systems. That's FMC nirvana! Again, this creates a great opportunity for Motorola (or whatever the enterprise mobility division will be called) to stand out from the crowded marketplace of enterprise mobility vendors because they will be able to provide a wide range of solutions that work via ONE platform. The key of course will be execution. There are a wide range of best of breed vendors in this space, and the key to Good/Symbol's success will be its ability to provide a compelling vision, as well as its ability to provide interoperability with an organization's legacy solutions.
Good times indeed...
