Enterprise Device Enablement
Mastering the
Mobile Challenge
Welcome to the post-PC world, where mobility rules.
Just as laptops eventually superseded sales of desktop
PCs, tablets and smartphones are well on their way
to replacing PCs as the primary computing device
for multiple worker segments. Enterprises and device
manufacturers alike face new challenges, but have the
potential to reap new benefits.
With the onset of consumerization and the “bring
your own device” or “BYOD” trend, enterprises and
manufacturers must focus on mobile devices that are
small yet powerful and simple yet intuitive. Employees
have already established the viability of mobile devices,
by adopting them in their personal lives. Now is the
time to capitalize on that acceptance by creating
devices whose capabilities are expansive enough to
serve both employees and the enterprise itself.
The world of mobile devices is not the PC world made
small. It is an arguably different world, requiring
different strategies for design, development, and
deployment. Here is what a focused strategy for
enterprise device enablement entails.
A New Kind of Specificity
The PC was designed as a general-purpose computing tool, onto which enterprises could load a variety of applications. Mobile devices have a different context: they’re smaller, which requires greater ease-of-use and even more specificity for employees’ tasks. But unlike mobile devices of the past, which tended to be highly customized and thus more expensive, today’s devices allow a more efficient combination of horizontal capabilities (e.g., e-mail, security and device management) with a higher level of customization—both from a hardware and software standpoint— based on roles and responsibilities. Let us look at horizontal, enterprise-specific capabilities first. They have evolved far beyond the days of
downloading e-mail, although that clearly remains one of the most important applications. But with the drive toward simplicity, enterprise developers can imbed better integration with back-end applications than ever before. Take security: enterprises can build in security modules to help ensure that when users transmit information, they adhere to specific IT policies. Other applications of IT policies may include
Understanding Business
Needs and Challenges
Greater opportunities mean greater choice, but they also demand a more deliberate decision-making process regarding the hardware, software, and connectivity that’s needed. It has been said that the simpler a device is for users, the more complexity lurks behind it. That has never been more true. Both enterprises and manufacturers embarking on a mobile device enablement strategy need to understand a wide variety of business and technical issues. Hardware: When it comes to deploying mobile devices to knowledge workers, are companies going to adopt a “bring your own device” policy, limit devices to certain choices, or issue approved devices? Multi-platform strategies offer both advantages and drawbacks.
Software: Enterprises must determine the viability of either developing software themselves—and if so, what development framework they will use—or purchasing third-party software. By codifying their software structure, they can more easily identify both applications and tools to use for various cases.
enterprises need to put in place if devices communicate through secure versus unsecured WiFi networks? Must all data be encrypted, or only specific corporate data?
Compliance and Security: This relates to connectivity, but also encompasses issues with credit cards relating to Payment Card Industry compliance or medical devices that need to be approved by the Food and Drug Administration. It also relates to applications, because enterprises may need to ensure that employees only download approved applications—just because employees have an AndroidTM device, should
Making Mobile Device
Enablement A Reality
As daunting as those needs and
challenges might be, mobile devices can improve the productivity of employees, which in turn helps enterprises and manufacturers achieve their business objectives. To reap the full benefits these devices provide, enterprises need to develop mobile device enablement capabilities, including the ability to build enterprise applications, to create the online stores for those applications, to enhance and extend operating systems for greater productivity, and to manage mobile devices cost-effectively.
Enterprise Applications
The area of applications spans multiple aspects of mobility, including development, communication and collaboration. Development requires a keen understanding of either device-dependent or cross-platform tools as well as insight into the latest aspects of Web development on handheld devices. Communication covers connectivity to back-end enterprise applications, including productivity applications as well as the latest in telephony and Web services suites. Collaboration
Enterprise Applications
Catalog
To provide the highest levels of security and management for the deployment of internal enterprise applications, companies are more frequently setting up their own versions of application stores to serve their users. From there, users can download approved applications via a catalogue that is either embedded as an application in their handheld device or available via the Web.
Operating System
Enhancements
With the increasing popularity of BYOD policies, companies need a strong understanding of operating system issues on handhelds. They need to ensure the separation and security of personal and corporate data through on-device encryption as well as ensure functionality in terms of synchronization, WiFi access and enterprise applications.
Device Management
Managing devices spans several categories, from the physical and logistical to software and security. A strong mobile device management (MDM) system helps companies
Strategies for Tackling Mobility
While mobility delivers clear benefits to companies today, it continues to rapidly evolve. Start-ups and established vendors alike are creating new capabilities and applications every day. Hardware vendors that were dominant a few years ago have crested, with others taking their place. Given this ever-shifting landscape, prudent companies must develop mobility strategies that account for the industry’s shifting landscape. Beyond the devices themselves, companies should develop a strategy for integrating the mobile capabilities into their back-end infrastructure. Understanding the basics of connectivity is only part of the equation. Companies need to understand prototype and test mobile applications or to modify and customize the hardware itself. They need to test the devices and the applications within their particular infrastructure, both for reliability and usability. And they need to properly manage those devices once they are deployed.
Furthermore, if an enterprise determines that it must support multiple platforms, it then needs to identify cross-platform
with third-party components, usability, device management, regulatory policy and security.
Overall, depending on a specific company’s needs, it must take into account a variety of areas, including: • Third-party component integration • Security and compliance needs • Telecom expense management • Technical support and downtime
mitigation
• Unified communications capabilities • Connectivity and carrier/network
certification
To help them navigate this landscape of challenges, companies that do not have internal expertise in mobility should look for a partner that brings a depth of knowledge in a variety of specialized needs. Such a partner can apply lessons and insights it gathers in one industry to another. For example, mobile devices that have been developed for military and government deployments generally have security capabilities beyond those of other industries. The lessons garnered in developing those
Contact Us
For more information about how Accenture can assist with positioning your organization as a mobile trendsetter, please contact:
Srinivas Ramadath
Accenture Mobility Services
Campaign Lead – Sales and Consulting [email protected]
Inderpreet Singh
Accenture Mobility Software Services – Devices and Platforms
For more information on Accenture Mobility please scan the 2D barcode.
About Accenture Mobility
Accenture is focused on enabling its clients to achieve breakthrough growth throughout the rapidly changing mobile ecosystem. Accenture Mobility offers five mobility services including consulting, software services – applications, software services – devices and platforms,
managed services, and business integration services. These are designed to help organizations embrace business to employee (B2E), business to consumer (B2C), business to business (B2B) and machine to machine (M2M) business opportunities. Accenture offers mobility and embedded software services across a wide range of industries and platforms, including Android™, Apple® iOS,
Blackberry®, Linux, Meego™, Symbian, Windows® Phone and Windows 8.
