The average enterprise is already using 2.8 different smartphone platforms. Mobility management is the key to creating order from the chaos.
The Four Pillars of Enterprise Mobility in 2010, Part 3
This series of four articles on the key findings of Aberdeen Group's recent report, Enterprise Mobile Strategies 2010: More Mobility, Same Budget , is available exclusively for Mobile Enterprise Magazine. For readers of the magazine and members of its online community, the full report is available for complimentary download through March 5, 2010 (a $399 retail value).
Pillar Three: Managing the Chaos: the Rise of Mobility Management
Mobility management, combining the software and services needed to manage the full lifecycle of mobile devices, has become the essential tool for top performers to drive down support costs, improve the performance of their mobility infrastructure, and increase the security and protection of their organization's data.
Two thirds (66%) of the industry's top performing enterprises (the Best-in-Class) track the number of mobile devices under centralized management.
In Figure 1, we can see the central role that Over-the-Air (OTA) mobility management plays in differentiating the performance of the Best-in-Class organizations. Nearly two thirds (63%) of these top performers manage their mobile devices centrally using OTA, providing them with core capabilities: they can remotely lock and/or erase ('wipe') a device if it is lost, stolen, or otherwise compromised.
They can also update the software OTA, to ensure that all mobile devices under central management have the latest software, drivers, and are otherwise properly configured and compliant with IT standards.
As the mobile device starts to live up to its potential as a fully capable pocket-sized computer, it must be managed and secured just like any other core enterprise computing asset.
Add to that the many combinations of mobile hardware, firmware, and software that are potentially accessing the organization's network, and it becomes imperative that organizations implement a comprehensive mobility management strategy that acknowledges the realities of today's heterogeneous, user-centric mobile environment.
Recent Aberdeen research confirms that the heterogeneous mobile device environment has already arrived; in the December 2009 study Enterprise Mobile Strategies 2010: More Mobility, Same Budget, the average survey respondent was already using 2.8 different smartphone platforms; the Best-in-Class had even greater device diversity, with an average of 3.3 different smartphone platforms.
IT departments are particularly challenged to balance the often contradictory demands of increasing employee flexibility and access while maintaining enterprise needs for cost containment, risk management, compliance, security, and support.
As we discussed in Part 2 of this report, a particularly challenging trend for those organizations meeting demand for employee-liable devices is that the vast majority of them still have little-to-no visibility into device usage and telecom cost.
Mobility management offers a safe path to navigate the potential for enterprise mobility chaos.
A comprehensive mobility management strategy should incorporate "cradle-to-grave" mobile lifecycle management, from procurement to end-of-life and decommissioning.
It should also integrate support services outsourced to third parties where appropriate, mobile data and transmission security policies and enforcement, and adherence to governance, regulation, and compliance requirements.
In the final Part 4 of this series, we'll look at the emergence of a new class of mobile application that is changing how the enterprise goes to work: Pillar Four -- New Mobile Applications that Put Mobility to Work
Andrew Borg is Senior Research Analyst, Wireless & Mobility, with Aberdeen Group. | 
