Mobile device menus -- lists of devices that IT will support that
are handed out or posted for users -- are a solid way to keep
control over the ever-changing and frustrating mobile environment.
With everyone from BlackBerry maker Research In Motion (RIM) to
Nokia and Motorola -- and now even Apple Computer -- making a
must-have device, however, the chances that IT will be able to
dictate who can use which devices are getting slimmer.
Having several different devices spread throughout an
organisation can create headaches, from added cost to lack of
resources for support of the various devices. It's also difficult
for IT to ensure that the same applications can be used on a wide
variety of devices.
"I think IT's life is a nightmare," said
Current Analysis
analyst Kathryn Weldon, recalling being at a mobility conference
and hearing an announcement concerning a new, must-have device. The
crowd was pleased, but "I heard nothing but groans and moans from
IT."
As devices continue to evolve and more and more are brought into
the enterprise, IT needs to ensure that applications are adaptable,
according to Gartner Inc. In a recent study, Gartner recommended:
"An IT organisation should ensure that its software application can
adapt to a variety of devices to protect itself against device
preference changes on [the part] of users."
But mobility experts say that a mobile device menu can be an
excellent way for IT to ensure that they are managing only a
certain number of varying devices. And in some cases, it's up to IT
to be the bad guys and flat out refuse to support a device that is
not on the menu.
According to Daniel Taylor, managing director of the
Mobile Enterprise
Alliance, creating a device menu should start with IT's
determining what activities the devices are needed for and which
users need which level of functionality. By creating activity
profiles for users, IT can more easily tailor device menus for
those specific users.
"Instead of trying to say, 'We've got to get a list,' turn it
around and start with activity profiles," Taylor said, adding that
with an approach like that, "the menu writes itself."
Jack Gold, principal and founder of J.Gold Associates, a
Northborough, Mass.-based research and advisory firm, agreed that
determining exactly what the users need a device for is a solid
first step.
"You've got to look at what a user is," he said. "IT needs to
understand which applications users will run on their devices and
determine which is the correct device for that functionality."
For the most part, rank-and-file workers won't care which
devices they are allowed to use. They simply want to be connected.
C-level executives, on the other hand, want more.
"Enforcing it with those guys is much more problematic," Gold
said. "Who's going to say no to them?"
Taylor added, "The issue is always going to be that someone wants
more device than they have. You need to have a way to answer their
questions."
Simply saying no to users who want a device supported is not the
correct approach, Taylor said. Instead, he suggests offering them
other options, but options that are still within the confines of
the menu and policy. IT departments should say, "This is what we
can do for you, and this is what we can't."
And when the user won't follow the mobile device menu's
guideline, "The answer should be, 'Well, if you want this, you're
going to have to pay for it, and you're not going to be supported,'
" Taylor said. "We like to say we support every user on every
application, but we just can't do that."
Still, any kind of answer instead of just "no," is easier for
users to swallow.
"A qualified yes is better than a blanket no," Taylor said.
For some users, it's a carrot and stick approach, Gold
suggested. Companies can offer to pay if a user takes a certain
kind of device – that's the carrot. The stick is that if you decide
against using an approved device, IT can decide not to support it
on the network.
"That's very effective, if you can really enforce it," he said.
"That's really the key."
Craig Mathias, principal with Ashland, Mass.-based Farpoint
Group, took that one step further.
"I think eventually enterprises are going to buy these [devices]
and give them out to users," he said, adding that buying a large
number of devices at once not only ensures the organisation a price
break but also gives it direct control over which devices are
used.
According to Gold, though, "The fewer you support, the better
off you are. It's always cheaper to support one kind of product as
opposed to several kinds of products."
As a rule of thumb, he said, offering three devices is adequate:
One low-end device for users who just need the voice capabilities;
a middle-of-the-road device for users who need basic Web and email;
and a high-end device for users who need to use mobile
applications.
"Most organisations could probably get away with two," Gold
said.
Still, some companies allow users to bring in whichever kind of
device they want, creating a sort of state of anarchy.
 | | | | | Instead of trying to say, 'We've
got to get a list,' turn it around and start with activity profiles
... the menu writes itself.
Daniel Taylor
Managing DirectorMobile Enterprise
Alliance |
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| |
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"It's the same question we went through with the PC," Gold said --
companies are now mulling the same considerations as with PCs and
laptops just a few years ago. "Phones are going to be the same."
Weldon echoed that the device world today is analogous to the PC
world of the past. But, she said, enterprises are wising up and
broadening their options while also keeping tight rein on the
devices that end users can bring in.
One tactic, Weldon suggested, is limiting device choice to a set
of operating systems. That way, users can choose a device, as long
as it runs that OS. For example, IT could tell end users that it
will support any device running BlackBerry or Windows Mobile, but
it won't support Symbian or Palm.
"On some level, things are getting a little easier," she said.
"If Windows Mobile and RIM become the de facto standards down the
road, maybe it doesn't matter all that much."
Along with operating systems, enterprises and IT must also
consider carriers. Certain devices are used by certain carriers, so
before setting a menu in stone, IT must determine which carrier to
align with and ensure that the carrier offers preferred
devices.
"The carrier is only going to support certain devices," Gold
said.
Another option -- a kind of fallback plan when the number of
devices gets too big to handle -- is outsourcing, Weldon suggested.
Many providers can manage deployments of multiple devices, making
things a bit easier.
Regardless of whether an enterprise decides to outsource device
management or opts to manage devices in-house, Gold said, companies
have to be willing to adapt and accept future devices, applications
and tools. A mobile device menu, with a limited number of devices
available to end users, could help.
"IT needs to think about not only what's in place today," Gold
said, "but what you'll run six to 12 months from now."