With more mobile workers than ever -- and more on the way -- IT
managers are hard at work figuring out how to keep remote devices
on the network updated and secure.
An IDC study released last week said the number of converged
mobile devices hit a new high in the second quarter of 2006. The 20
million units shipped in the second quarter of this year mean a 42%
increase over last year's number.
The mobile phones in the study included those that have
high-level operating systems such as BlackBerry, Linux, Palm,
Symbian or Windows Mobile. IDC said it expects that more than 100
million mobile devices will ship by the end of 2006.
The growing availability of email products that support a
variety of platforms will continue to drive demand for
enterprise-based devices for mobile workers, the study said.
Keeping ahead of the complex task of managing them will require an
even greater level of vigilance from IT managers who are still a
little skittish about remote access.
"IT managers have a lot on their plates," said Rena
Bhattacharyya, program manager for IDC's wireless business network
services program. Added to their workload is the urgent need to get
a handle on all of their remote users as they access the network
through wireless devices, she said. And "there is a move toward
configurations that will allow them to manage [these devices] more
remotely."
In the enterprise messaging space, Microsoft dominates with its
Exchange Server 2003 messaging and collaboration platform. With
Service Pack 2 -- Exchange 2003's latest release -- IT
administrators that use the standard edition can adjust size
configurations to allow for up to 75 GB per database.
Other features include Direct Push Technology that uses an HTTP
connection to push new email messages to mobile devices and local
wipe, which dictates how many incorrect log-on attempts are
permitted before a device is locked. In addition, remote wipe
allows admins to delete information remotely from a lost or stolen
device.
Two more major contenders in the messaging market are IBM's
Lotus Domino server software that provides enterprise collaboration
capabilities and Novell GroupWise collaboration software that
offers email, calendaring, instant messaging, task management and
contact and document management.
The variety of features available in today's products may be a
draw for some IT managers. For others, however, the bottom-line
concern seems to be getting the job done no matter where the users
are.
"Our users are in areas where there isn't great reception," said
Lisa Moorehead, director of MIS at the Massachusetts Department of
Public Utilities, which sends its inspectors to all corners of the
state.
"If we're pushing down a major software update, these are folks
who don't want to wait," she said. "They'll cancel the update, and
that means their antivirus software will be out of date."
Of the agency's 200 users, one-third of them reported using
mobile devices this year compared with 20% last year, Moorehead
said. Among the biggest challenges with her growing number of
remote users was convincing them to be patient about updating their
software.
In August, the agency took action and started using Exchange
Server 2003 SP2 because of its improved mobile security features.
With SP2, IT administrators can remotely manage, select and enforce
IT policies on wireless devices. For example, IT administrators can
set a personal identification number password for every device and
control each device's access to the network.
Moorehead put SP2's Group Policy to the test after just two
weeks during a virus threat. "Folks were told they had two days to
update their antivirus software or bring their laptop in," she
said. "If they didn't, they weren't allowed to access the network,"
she said.
Lost or stolen mobile devices make for another major headache
for IT managers, especially when the data on the device must be
protected under the law.
At the Helen Farabee Regional Mental Health and Mental
Retardation Centers in Wichita Falls, Texas, Scott Reeves needs to
know that patient data will stay confidential even if the wireless
devices that doctors use go missing. Remote Wipe is a feature in
Exchange Server 2003 SP2 that allows IT managers to force a device
to delete its contents remotely.
"Remote Wipe is an especially important feature for us because
we need to protect client and patient data under [the Health
Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, or HIPAA] even if a
device is lost or stolen," he said. The need to secure data over
wireless devices is going to take on increasing importance at his
organization, where the percentage of wireless devices among his
550 users will likely grow from 10% this year to at least 50% in
the next five years, said Reeves.
"We're looking forward new features in Exchange 2007 that offer
better capabilities to exert some control on end users," he said.
Reeve's wish list includes features that "compress or encrypt in
certain situations to keep spam and viruses down."
This article originally appeared on
SearchWinIT.com