Welcome to the latest edition of Inside Looking Out. This past week, I got to speak with Dan Dearing. Dan is the VP of Marketing and Product Management at Trust Digital, a Virginia-based mobility management solution provider.
One of the things I like most about TD is how they are one of the only mobility management companies out there that can actually (vs. just saying they can) handle the iPhone in the enterprise...and everyone here knows how I feel about an unmanaged iPhone.
Enterprise Mobility Matters: Enterprise Mobility has changed a lot in the last few years. What would you say is the greatest recent advancement?
Dan Dearing: I think the biggest development is that smartphone mobility has moved beyond the corporate elite. Interestingly, I think the expansion of mobility is being driven by the workers, with or without the help of the IT department. And now with blockbuster consumer smartphones like the iPhone being a key driver, the smartphone landscape has changed and so has the purchasing decisions consumers make when they upgrade their mobile phones. I saw a stat the other day where half of all mobile phone purchases by consumers are for smartphones. I saw that in my own family. Both of my college-age daughters have traded in their cell phones for a Blackberry Bold and an iPhone. Now, with the launch of the Palm Pre it looks like the iPhone has some real competition. Throw in other cool devices based on Android, and consumers have even more choice. It may not be a totally correct analogy for technology purists, but it almost feels like consumers are trading in their cell phones for laptops. So just by sheer numbers, this is bleeding over into the enterprise. You and other industry analysts have been talking about the consumerization of enterprise IT and without a doubt consumers are using their personal smartphones at work. That’s creating new pressures and new challenges for their employer’s IT departments.
EMM: Are companies looking at mobility differently today as compared to a few years ago?
DD: A few years ago, mobility in IT was centered on giving users laptops and maybe a Blackberry so they could get access to email when and where they wanted. Business departments often self-mobilized their line of business applications without IT’s involvement. As a result, it’s pretty common today to find large enterprises with a fragmented approach to mobility. Essentially, they have created islands of mobility ranging from Blackberry email for executives to ruggedized devices tracking inventory in the warehouse. Many CIOs that we talk with are exploring ways to rationalize these disparate mobility solutions into a single cost-effective platform that makes it easy to plug-in new applications and smartphone devices.
EMM: How do you see the economy impacting mobility in the enterprise?
DD: The poor state of the economy has made CIOs much more cost conscious, so they continue to try and ring out the cost of delivering mobility to users. As I mentioned before, this is leading them to consolidate their islands of mobility on to a single mobility management platform, but ultimately, they want the option to outsource this capability just like many companies do today with email. The initial step for many of them has been to outsource labor-intensive functions such as providing help desk assistance or kitting and activating a smartphone for enterprise use.
EMM: What do you think is the greatest current opportunity for enterprise mobility?
DD: Mobilizing applications beyond email. Email has been a great way for many IT departments to cut their teeth on mobility. With a foundation in place for device management and security, the next opportunity is to mobilize applications that create true competitive advantage for companies. Again, IT can take lessons from the consumer side of the market. I find it astounding how quickly the iPhone App Store has grown and the diversity of applications available for users. What’s needed is an enterprise App Store of sorts where IT would provide a common way to distribute and manage the apps, while the business teams would create their own apps for the specialized needs of their users.
EMM: What do you think is the greatest risk for organizations right now?
DD: An organization’s mobility policies are only effective if users comply with them—so some method of compliance enforcement seems top of mind for many of the IT organizations that I speak with especially in security conscious markets such as healthcare. Smartphones create new compliance issues not seen before with laptops. Smartphone users are technically savvy enough to skirt around IT policies by hard-resetting a device and removing the security software or settings. And the low cost of smartphones also makes it easy for users to replace a “standard issued” or lost smartphone with a new device and merely self configure it to sync with IT servers. Having a way to monitor and remedy user compliance is a key part in the rollout of a company’s mobility strategy.
EMM: What steps should executives take to ensure the success of their mobility implementations?
DD: Having a mobility strategy is key, but to be truly successful you need to also ensure that your strategy meets the needs and wants of your users. So, engage your users and give them device choice. Many IT departments are spending a great deal of energy and internal political capital defending a one size fits all smartphone strategy (i.e. Blackberry). I have a good friend who has a saying for his kids when they carp about doing difficult tasks such as their homework or chores – “If you can’t get out of it, get into it.” Consumerization is happening and it’s best to embrace it and find a way for IT to stay relevant. Standardize on a mobility platform that gives you the flexibility to provide users with choice while also meeting your organizational goals – think BES for any smartphone. As many IT groups are finding out, when it comes to smartphones, today’s users are savvy enough to get what they want.
Well there you have it. Thanks Dan for taking the time to chat with me about your views on Enterprise Mobility. Do you know anyone who should be a guest here on Inside Looking Out? Drop me a line.
