mobile management - page 4

One interesting moment during last year’s WWDC keynote was when Steve Jobs said that Apple was moving beyond the digital hub strategy it had embraced for years. He talked about how our computers are no longer the hub of our digital life and said that Apple was demoting the Macs and PCs and making them just another device like an iPhone or iPad.

That message set the stage for iCloud and for cord-free iOS devices that don’t need a Mac or PC for activation, backup, or sync.

There was also a much subtler message, however, that no one really picked up on at that time. In making the Mac just another device, Apple was likely laying the groundwork to change how companies and schools manage Macs – essentially treating them as just another device and bringing the mobile device management (MDM) paradigm introduced in iOS 4 to OS X and Mac management.

May is Mobile Management Month at Cult of Mac, where we will be profiling a different mobile management company every weekday. You can find all previous entries here  and read our Mobile Management manifesto here.

Tarmac is a fairly focused device management option from Mac and iOS developer equinux (makers of the Mac utility VPN Tracker). Tarmac focuses on delivering the core iOS management needs with low overhead. equinux’s narrow focus on just iOS allows the company to provide a wide range of enterprise systems integration options. Tarmac specifically targets the small business market with separate small/medium business and larger enterprise versions.

Often discussion around BYOD and mobile management focus on larger companies like IBM and VMWare (both of which have made big bets on BYOD). For larger enterprises, BYOD is a big change for IT professionals and users alike. Testing and transitioning to a BYOD model is filled with culture shock, challenges, and deeply held concerns about data and device security.

For small and mid-size businesses, however, the experience can be very different. That’s to be expected since smaller IT departments are often more tightly integrated with staff taking on multiple roles and less delineation of duties and job functions. Often this leads small business IT to be more agile and more engaged with the rest of the organization.

According to Nasstar, small businesses are employing BYOD in large numbers and with positive results.

Apple has gotten a fair amount of flack over Siri – most of it relating to Siri not recognizing words or phrases, misinterpreting requests, or providing incomplete or inaccurate answers. Apple is even facing a class action lawsuit over Siri not working as promised by iPhone 4S ads.

For IBM, however, the concern isn’t that Siri won’t work as advertised. Big blue is worried that Siri will work exactly as advertised and that confidential and sensitive information will leak outside IBM’s network as a result. For those reasons, the company disables Siri on the iPhones of its employees.

May is Mobile Management Month at Cult of Mac, where we will be profiling a different mobile management company every weekday. You can find all previous entries here  and read our Mobile Management manifesto here.

Zenprise focuses on the complete lifecycle management of mobile devices in enterprise environments. The company provides the core set of device and app management needs and offers integration with enterprise systems. Zenprise puts a particular emphasis mobile device inventory for both company-owned and BYOD devices.

Apple has been a major force in the BYOD movement. You can even argue that Apple ignited the BYOD flame with the release of the iPhone and iPad. While there have a number of studies looking at how companies in the U.S. are reacting to the trend, numbers haven’t readily been available from other markets.

That changed today with a new study that looks at BYOD in EMEA (Europe, Middle East, and Africa) business and institutions. The results show Apple devices as a clear preference in these markets, somewhat more limited BYOD adoption, and many of the same security concerns discussed by U.S. firms.

May is Mobile Management Month at Cult of Mac, where we will be profiling a different mobile management company every weekday. You can find all previous entries here  and read our Mobile Management manifesto here.

Tangoe is a company with a long history of wired and mobile telecom expense management. The company offers incredible hand-on services for evaluating communications expenses and offering cost saving advice for small/mid-size businesses and large enterprises alike. Tangoe’s biggest advantage is that it offers real-time review of telecom bills tied to specific departments, users, and device – and that it uses that data to build a specialized telecom expense plan for its clients.  The company also offers a solid range of device and app management. However, Tangoe’s real-time expense management capabilities are the company’s signature features.

May is Mobile Management Month at Cult of Mac, where we will be profiling a different mobile management company every weekday. You can find all previous entries here and read our Mobile Management manifesto here.

Symantec has long and solid track record in delivering enterprise systems. The company’s full lineup of enterprise solutions are practically a one-stop shopping list for IT departments offering everything from virus and malware tools right through every IT task (deployment, Mac/Windows workstation management, help desk operations, even inventory). As you’d expect, Symantec Mobile Management integrates quite nicely with other Symantec enterprise tools creating a streamlined single source IT infrastructure.

Even as a standalone product, however, Symantec Mobile Management is an attractive offering. It has a powerful focus security and includes secure file management features. It’s also extremely scalable and makes almost every IT/mobile management processes as hand-off and automatic as possible. Even device enrollment is simple and designed to be accomplished by end users with little or no input from IT. That makes it particularly attractive to larger enterprise organizations.

May is Mobile Management Month at Cult of Mac, where we will be profiling a different mobile management company every weekday. You can find all previous entries here  and read our Mobile Management manifesto here.

Sybase, and SAP company provides a range of enterprise IT solutions. Afaria, Syabase’s mobile management platform, is a comprehensive solution that ties in with other Sybase and SAP enterprise products (most notably its desktop PC management offerings). Overall, the platform is a great resource for existing SAP and Sybase customers.

This week, the Enterprise Device Alliance announced its newest member – London-based Trams. The Enterprise Device Alliance (a.k.a. EDA) is a non-profit group that provides resources to companies and organizations looking to integrate Apple technologies into predominantly Windows-based environments.

Trams is an IT solutions vendor and consulting company that provides services to customers in the UK, Ireland, and Northern Europe.

The company is the fourth new member to join the EDA since the beginning of this year (and the second technology integrator to join this year). The company will help the EDA expand the resources available to UK and European IT departments integrating Macs, iPhones, and iPads into their organizations – starting with a luncheon for IT professionals, to be conducted on June 19 at the Soho Hotel.

May is Mobile Management Month at Cult of Mac, where we will be profiling a different mobile management company every weekday. You can find all previous entries here  and read our Mobile Management manifesto here.

PushManager provides a solid device management solution that also provides basic app deployment and management capabilities. PushManager puts a focus on being easy to set up and administer while also providing core security features. The company offers cloud service that is extremely easy to implement and can support a range of business types and sizes. For organizations with significant infrastructure, an on-premise package is available that can integrate with Active Directory. 

Update: We incorrectly posted that Cisco charges its users to participate in its BYOD program. While the company’s report does list an average $600 expense for employees making use of BYOD, that expense refers to the purchase of a smartphone or other device and not an additional fee to use the device in the workplace. Clarifications from Cisco’s Ross Camp are included at the end of this post.

Cisco released a new report on BYOD programs at U.S. companies. The survey provides insights into the prevalence of BYOD, how companies manage BYOD programs, and some of the costs associated with BYOD approaches. While those stats are useful and important, the biggest and most surprising revelation in the report came from Cisco itself.

In planning and implementing its BYOD program, Cisco opted to charge users a fee (on average of $600) for the privilege of using their own devices at work.

Are BYOD programs really all that common? According to a new report from staffing and recruiting firm Robert Half, the answer is that they aren’t. In fact, according to the report many CIOs and IT departments don’t allow employees to use personal devices. That runs contrary to a lot of other data that shows the iPhone, iPad, and other personal technologies are increasingly finding their ways into the office.

The immediate judgement might be to throw out this report or others because of the disconnect between them. That wouldn’t be a wise course of action, however. In fact, putting this report and another recent study that we covered last week side by side indicates that many CIOs may be dangerously unaware of what’s going on in their companies.

May is Mobile Management Month at Cult of Mac, where we will be profiling a different mobile management company every weekday. You can find all previous entries here and read our Mobile Management manifesto here.

Notify has been providing a range of enterprise mobile solutions for quite some time. In addition to its NotifyMDM mobile management solution, the company produces a push messaging solution known as NotifyLink as well as NotifySync, an Exchange ActiveSync solution for BlackBerry devices. NotifyMDM supports the core mobile management needs with a focus on user self-servicing options and on providing comprehensive device use information.

May is Mobile Management Month at Cult of Mac, where we will be profiling a different mobile management company every weekday. You can find all previous entries here  and read our Mobile Management manifesto here.

MobileIron was one of the first companies to launch support for Apple’s mobile management framework. The company has a rich experience of helping organizations of all kinds manage iOS and mobile device deployments. MobileIron’s team has experience solving mobile management issues in business, healthcare, government ,and education markets. The company focuses on developing an integrated solution using its cloud technologies and existing business/enterprise systems and infrastructure. At the same time, MobileIron focuses on making initial deployment and ongoing management as efficient as possible while still providing effective device and network security. The company also offers a range of monitoring feature that go beyond security including tracking of device and app use, network performance, and mobile expenses – all under the moniker Mobile Activity Intelligence .

May is Mobile Management Month at Cult of Mac, where we will be profiling a different mobile management company every weekday. You can find all previous entries here  and read our Mobile Management manifesto here.

JAMF specializes in Apple management technologies. The company Casper Suite is a full featured Mac client management solution as well as an iOS device management product. Being devoted specifically to Apple technologies, JAMF is able to include features not found in other products at this time including the ability to integrate with Apple’s enterprise sales and warranty system known as GSX, the ability to distribute ebooks to iOS devices, and deployment workflows that integrate with Apple Configurator.

While Casper Suite is an excellent option for organizations that are predominantly or completely Apple-based, organizations with a mix of desktop and mobile platforms may find the product somewhat limiting. In addition to Casper Suite for Mac and iOS management, JAMF also offers Mac enterprise deployment and asset management tools. Finally, it’s worth noting that JAMF offers significant licensing discounts for education institutions implementing Casper Suite. 

Most companies grappling with the BYOD trend think in terms of allowing personal iPhones, iPad, and Android devices. Virtualization heavyweight VMWare looked at the situation quite a bit differently. Instead of allowing personal devices, VMWare’s CIO Mark Egan decided to require employees to use their personal smartphones in the office.

The move, unorthodox to say the least, seemed to Egan the best option when he found himself sandwiched between the rock of corporate-owned smartphone expenses and the hard place of users clamoring for the choices of BYOD. 

May is Mobile Management Month at Cult of Mac, where we will be profiling a different mobile management company every weekday. You can find all previous entries here  and read our Mobile Management manifesto here.

IBM is one of the newest entrants to the mobile management market. The company launched its IBM Endpoint Manager for Mobile Devices in March. At the moment, IBM’s feature set is focused on device management with limited app management capabilities. It will appeal most to companies that are already using other IBM solutions. Although Endpoint Manager for Mobile Devices can be used as a stand alone mobile device management tool, it will be most effective when integrated with IBM’s various Tivoli enterprise solutions including endpoint management and help desk packages because it will be able to key off existing organizational systems making for easier setup and a streamlined overall management experience across the board.

Businesses and individuals thinking that they have mobile security covered, may need to think again. That’s the message from a new report on mobile security shows that nearly half of people using a personal device like an iPhone, iPad, or Android device are doing so without their company’s knowledge or permission. The same report showed that users frequently access sensitive or confidential data from mobile devices but would stop after a security breach.

Adding to concerns around personal mobile devices and BYOD programs, one third of IT professionals in the survey said that their company has already experienced a mobile-related security incident.

May is Mobile Management Month at Cult of Mac, where we will be profiling a different mobile management company every weekday. You can find all previous entries here  and read our Mobile Management manifesto here.

Although Good does provide device and app management, its primary focus is securing business data. To that end, the company effectively segregates all business information and documents on a device from a user’s personal content. To accomplish this Good’s iOS app delivers the same features as Apple’s Mail, Calendar, and Contacts apps – a move that ensures business messages event data are always secure. Good also includes a secure web browser and secure on-device document and data storage. The secure data store is sandboxed and can restrict users from copying data to unapproved apps as well as prevent such apps from accessing business documents or files.Good also provides a government agency solution that has been certified to meet various government and military standards for secure access including two-factor authentication.

Good leverages these technologies through a new solution called Good Dynamics that allows other companies, including mobile management vendor Boxtone who we profiled earlier in this series, to take advantage of Good’s secure data store. See our Good Dynamics coverage for more details.

May is Mobile Management Month at Cult of Mac, where we will be profiling a different mobile management company every weekday. You can find all previous entries here  and read our Mobile Management manifesto here.

Fiberlink’s Maas360 offers a range of management capabilities with an emphasis on app and information management. A document management app can be deployed to devices to provide secure on-device storage for business data with optional sandboxing to prevent corporate files from being opened by unapproved apps. App management includes an enterprise app store with granular policy options for determining app access as well as app blacklist capabilities. In addition to traditional mobile devices like smartphones and tablets, MaaS360 can also apply some management policies for MacBooks and Windows notebooks. This combination of available features making one of the more robust mobile management systems on the market. The company also has a strategic partnership with Verizon Wireless.

May is Mobile Management Month at Cult of Mac, where we will be profiling a different mobile management company every weekday. You can find all previous entries here  and read our Mobile Management manifesto here.

Excitor produces the DME line of mobile management tools. The lineup currently offers a device management component that includes basic app management functionality and a secure messaging component. The secure messaging component offers companies a fully secured on-device message, contacts, and calendar data store that is separate from Apple’s Mail, Contacts, and Calendar apps – this helps ensure business data is not readable on a lost or stolen device even if that device is unlocked. Excitor has announced two additional DME components that, according to the company’s website, are not yet available. The first, is focused on creating an on-device secure data store while the second is a secure mobile browser.

There’s plenty of news out there about the way mobile technology, BYOD programs, and other facets of the consumerization of IT trend are reshaping the workplace and the IT department. The traditional daily routine of typing a username and password into PC in the morning, using that computer all day long, and shutting it down before heading home is gone for many of us.

Today, we use a mix of devices in the office, during meetings, on the road, and often from home. That mix of devices, a range of different apps, cloud services, and remote access empowers us in ways that were unimaginable a few years ago. In this new workplace, however, do we need something more than the old username and password to make resources available and keep them business data secure?

One of the surprising, and some might say disturbing, realities of today’s consumerized IT departments is that IT staff are being left out of the loop on technology projects. Nowhere is that more evident than when it comes to developing mobile app strategies, particularly customer-facing app strategies.

Instead many business and marketing managers are recruiting or contracting app developers directly, often bypassing CIOs and IT managers in the process. While this new trend is primarily focused on app development, it could easily be the start of a slippery slope that leads to more and more outsourcing of technology projects and management.

BYOD programs have a tendency to worry IT departments. After decades of being charged with keeping computers, supporting devices, and data safe and in working order, losing control of hardware is a massive culture shift. Even absent a BYOD program, the growing number of mobile devices that are used outside of the office and take corporate data outside the security of an enterprise network can be disorienting for long term IT professionals.

That leads to a tendency to clamp down with every ounce of security muscle available – mobile device management (MDM) can’t entirely secure an iPhone or iPad, but they can do a pretty good job of locking it down, monitoring it in the office or on the road, and make it easy to wipe everything off of it at a moment’s notice.