Smartphones and ipads: mobility blessing or technology support curse?

Transcription

1 Smartphones and ipads: mobility blessing or technology support curse? harris.com

2 Smartphones and ipads: mobility blessing or technology support curse? An ipad and a smartphone walk into a building and the ripple effect winds up at the doorstep of the IT organization. I want my company on my personal ipad. Can you make an app for that enterprise application so I can be more productive using it on my smartphone? How can we enable my business partners to use their mobile devices on our network while visiting? Why can t we reliably get streamed video to our ipad? These are common refrains in IT departments around the world. Not one of them was an issue four years ago. Devices, Devices Everywhere The explosion of mobile computing devices is creating an increasing number of challenges for IT departments. While managing multiple device platforms is creating headaches, increasing bandwidth consumption and the use of critical business applications on mobile devices is becoming the IT equivalent of a migraine. Smart mobile device adoption is challenging organizations in four key areas: > Applications > Networks > Administration and Support > Policy Users expect to have access to corporate data systems, collaboration tools and enterprise applications from anywhere and from any device. Many of these applications were designed for use on a wired platform the PC. When the computing use cases move to a mobile environment, they also change the load on wireless networks. Combine this with new use cases and the rapid growth of mobile video and it is no surprise that network upgrade schedules need to be accelerated to meet basic demand. As smartphones and tablets proliferate within the enterprise, no dominant platform is emerging. Most organizations are left with a legacy BlackBerry platform and are struggling to add Apple ios and Google Android based devices on a common administration framework. Since the majority of these devices today are employee owned and administered, there are clear corporate IT policy implications as well. This past year saw the emergence of new terms to explain this situation such as individual liable, corporate liable and BYOD (bring your own device). You can approach these changes piecemeal or holistically This trend toward consumerization of IT along with the move toward a combination of thinner clients and mobile apps introduces new challenges in the areas of standardization, performance management, business continuity and corporate data vulnerability. Enterprises risk not only productivity and user satisfaction, but also corporate data loss. To successfully navigate the changing mobility landscape, today s enterprise needs to adopt a holistic approach to enterprise mobility management (EMM) that extends beyond mobile device management (MDM) to include mobile infrastructure management (MIM) and enterprise mobility governance (EMG). Adopting an Enterprise Mobility Management Framework will help companies get beyond firefighting and get out in front of the mobility challenge. The Explosion of Mobile Computing Devices: the new fact in IT Just in case you are thinking that mobile computing is another passing fad, let s review some facts. The number of mobile computing devices has skyrocketed over the past two years and there are no signs of the trend abating. Desktop sales are declining while notebooks, netbooks, tablets and smartphones are proliferating. Growth has been especially strong with smartphones and tablets with the number of smartphone and tablet users in the United States expected to reach 133 million and 89.5 million respectively by 2014 according to emarketer. In fact, tablet sales already outpace desktop sales and are expected to surpass notebook sales before The Wall Street Journal reported in January that tablet penetration nearly doubled to 19% of the U.S. population in December The era of the desktop has ended and a new era of mobility has begun. 2

3 The Mobility Challenge: changing assumptions The shift in IT management practices caused by mobile computing cannot be overstated at this point. It is changing long held assumptions about every layer of the IT stack. Everything from how applications are delivered to who owns the devices is being reconsidered. In the past, IT departments would establish common, secure computing platforms that everyone would work on. This simplified planning, administration and support. Thank you, Microsoft, Oracle, SAP, and BlackBerry. Today IT departments are determining how to shift from BlackBerry to support devices operating on Google s Android and Apple s ios software. The move to these devices is related to the changing assumption around who owns the devices in the enterprise. Since the introduction of the first iphone, consumers have flocked to owning personal mobile phones even if they carry a corporate issued device. Corporations originally owned the computing devices because they were primarily for work and employees wouldn t buy personal devices with similar capabilities. Since users now insist on having devices that meet their preferences as a consumer and are conducting business on them, corporate data now resides on personal devices. This has led to discussions around employees bringing their own devices (BYOD) to work and allowing corporate IT departments to control the corporate data and applications residing on them. These are two profound shifts in traditional IT thinking. When considering how your organization should manage the changing IT landscape driven by mobile computing, three key trends need to be addressed head on: Managing multiple platforms Managing network bandwidth growth driven by video Navigating changing user expectations of speed, usability and performance A Lack of Standardization: living in a multi-platform world While the desktop era was defined by the dominance of the windows based PC, this new era of mobility stands in stark contrast with a variety of popular devices and platforms and no clear leader emerging. In North America, Android, ios, RIM and Windows share the majority of the market, and Symbian joins those four as a major player in Europe, Asia and Latin America. These platforms run on a wide variety of devices with a multitude of different form factors, screen sizes and input methods. The technology is evolving at a dizzying pace and the competition between vendors is fierce. New platform versions and devices are appearing on almost a monthly basis. growth in Bandwidth Consumption: video on the rise The rapid growth in smart mobile device users and the evolution of mobile computing technology have combined to create extraordinary growth in wireless network bandwidth consumption. Today s mobile devices have multi-core processors, high resolution screens and support rich applications and high definition video. Application stores host hundreds of thousands of low cost apps that can be downloaded in an instant. Mobile device users are demanding more rich media, putting pressure on wireless and cellular networks to handle the increased traffic. This demand is only expected to increase and Cisco predicts that in 2016 mobile devices will consume 10.8 exabytes of data globally compared to only 0.6 exabytes in 2011 an annual growth rate of 78%. IT Consumerization: speed and usability invade the enterprise As mobile devices have become more feature rich and the quality of mobile applications has improved, consumers, enamored with the convenience and portability of their personal devices, have developed an expectation that they can bring these devices into the workplace. A recent survey by the Yankee Group estimates that 58% of smartphones accessing corporate data systems are employee owned and administered. Corporate IT practitioners have been left in the unenviable position of either denying their user community the access they have come to expect, or accepting the challenge and risks associated with managing access for the myriad device and platform choices available to consumers. Mobile device management software attempts to bridge the desire of employees with the needs of IT. 3

4 Enterprise Mobility Management: more than just devices With the growing number of software tools available for mobile device management (MDM), it is all too easy for IT practitioners to become fixated on the devices and lose focus on the big picture of enterprise mobility management (EMM). A complete EMM solution should incorporate: Mobile Device Management (MDM) Mobile Infrastructure Management (MIM) Enterprise Mobility Governance (EMG) Enterprise Mobility Strategy (EMS) Mobile Device Management: demolition derby to slot car racing When it comes to the increasing variety of smart mobile devices it is no wonder IT organizations often feel like they are directing traffic at a demolition derby. Mobile Device Management (MDM) software has emerged to help bring order to a chaotic situation. MDM within the enterprise encompasses the products and services used to manage software delivery, policy enforcement, inventory, configuration, security and telecom service. A wide variety of tools are available from vendor-specific to multi-platform solutions. Implementations include on premise installation, cloudbased delivery and a hybrid approach. Some providers offer their tools as a managed service, while others require their tools to be managed by the customer s own IT organization or a third party. With the sheer number of tools available and the wide variance in capabilities and services offered, IT practitioners must carefully weigh the strengths and weaknesses of each tool with their organization s strategy and policy as outlined in the mobility governance framework. The benefits of these tools are the ability to manage devices residing on multiple platforms from a common administration framework along with the ability to control and access data and applications on non-corporate liable devices (i.e., employee owned). IT organizations will recognize this as an attempt to provide the same management framework on Apple and Android devices as they are accustomed to in managing BlackBerry. Mobile Infrastructure Management: highway or country road MIM is one of the most critical, yet most often overlooked aspects of a comprehensive EMM strategy. With the increase in the number of devices connecting to corporate networks and the increase in bandwidth consumption from the growing amount of data and data traffic on these devices, it is more important than ever for organizations to adopt a unified approach to planning and managing wireless mobility infrastructure. A unified approach will enable IT practitioners to determine the key features and levels of service required to meet user needs. It also enables them to optimize the infrastructure plan to meet requirements while minimizing total cost of ownership. Factors to evaluate when determining the infrastructure necessary to support enterprise mobility include: Wireless coverage density and quality of service (QoS) Endpoint identification and location for context awareness Identity management for wired, wireless and remote sessions Carrier network coverage quality Voice over Wireless LAN (VoWLAN) requirements for fixed mobile convergence 4

5 The key point to keep in mind is that device level discussions appear to be the center of the action in mobility discussions. However, the enterprise needs to consider the entire mobility user experience which includes the infrastructure that delivers voice, video and data to the devices. This analysis quickly becomes complicated as enterprises attempt to triangulate the intersection of access, bandwidth and networks that include both private and public owners. Enterprise Mobility Governance and Strategy: new rules of the road Enterprise Mobility Governance begins with a well articulated mobility strategy that is integrated with the overall enterprise IT strategy and corporate mission. A fully defined mobility strategy allows the governance framework to be complete with policies and processes aligned with the corporate mission and meet the needs of stakeholders. These policies and processes will further influence decisions on which combination of MDM and MIM solutions to implement and tailor to the needs of the enterprise. The main point is that few enterprises have established IT Governance models that accommodate the new reality of enterprise mobility in an ipad and smartphone world. When organizations combine a strategy around mobile devices and infrastructure management with a Governance model that sets objectives and policy, they can ensure that today s headaches don t become tomorrow s migraines. Conclusion: get ahead of the freight train Smart, mobile devices are changing the face of enterprise computing. The adoption of these devices in business settings is a trend that is gaining momentum and causing immediate challenges for IT departments. IT leaders have a choice of trying to outrun the freight train and hope they don t become mobility road kill or participate in steering the direction of mobile device adoption in the enterprise. Smartphones and ipads are changing user habits and putting stress on the IT ecosystem in such a way that it requires a thoughtful IT response. Harris IT Services Atlantic Boulevard, Suite 300 Dulles, VA , USA harris.com Harris is a registered trademark of Harris Corporation. Trademarks and tradenames are the property of their respective companies Harris Corporation 2/ SEC d0513