Managing mobile devices still has some way to go if one considers the operational standards, policies and procedures that come with managing desktop and laptop devices.
This is according to Garth Hayward, Africa regional manager at Kaseya, who believes the difficulties start with the fact that there are at least four main players, each with their own operating systems and device management.
To find out how organisations are handling mobile devices, ITWeb, in partnership with Kaseya, is carrying out the Managing Mobile Devices Survey.
Hayward explains that the difficulties business faces in managing mobile devices are not reflected in the market.
“SMEs and corporate companies are faced with the grim fact that if they want to empower their mobile workforce, either they are going to have to provision for the fact that there are many operating systems and standards or... own the device and standardise and lock themselves into a single manufacturer type.”
In addition, the decision of how to include the devices into the daily operational management routine is not to be taken lightly, he points out.
Hayward adds that this assumes companies have or are empowering business systems for their mobile workforce.
“But, at the very least, just the contacts and e-mail addresses captured on these devices are tactically important to any organisation and it is important to have policies and procedures in place that protect that information for the company.”
“We already have a situation of overworked and hard to find IT personnel; the last thing companies need is additional functional requirements and training for overburdened IT departments.
“Ideally, you would want to manage all access devices, whether they be server, workstation, laptops, iPads or smartphones from the same management platform, and you would also like to ensure that automation of the current tasks carried out on traditional IT endpoints can be applied to these mobile devices,” he says.
This, in turn, affords organisations the opportunity to simply treat these devices as an endpoint and then apply the usual policies and procedures as they would any other endpoint.
Hayward also believes if the main business gets a ROI from business processes it implements to deliver goods and services to its customers, the process costs include mobile devices.
“However, from an operational view point, the ability to be truly connected to our corporate and cloud services anywhere, anytime saves literally days of time, and a huge amount in travel costs,” he explains.
Hayward also notes that using mobile devices has several advantages. “When I first got my iPad a year ago, everyone thought I had wasted my money; they said the iPhone was sufficient and that the iPad was just a large iPhone.
“I must admit, their sentiments did make me question my decision. However, once I had the device in my hand, I cannot begin to tell you what a fantastic device this for me and how it assisted me to be far more productive.”
On whether businesses should invest in mobile devices, Hayward says this needs to be decided by the organisation.
“If they can gain a competitive advantage by delivering and or capturing information to their mobile workforce over their competition, then yes, it's justified.
“On the other hand, they are already, in most cases, including mobile allowances or supplying them for e-mail and mobile phone connectivity and those devices should be managed properly and the information treated as if it were any other endpoint that IT currently supports.”
To participate in the survey, click here.
Share