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Understanding this is the key to successfully completing MDM projects.

The latest cloud-based MDM solutions take a more holistic view.  MaaS360 from Fiberlink, for example, provides a 100% cloud-based mobility management platform that spans across devices, users, applications, documents and expenses management. Fiberlink’s approach is to provide mobility-as-a-service so that it’s easy and quick for resellers to deploy a fully managed solution.

At last year’s IT Infrastructure and Operations Management Summit, Gartner analyst Philip Redman spoke of the shift starting to take place around cloud-based solutions because of the sheer speed of delivery compared to traditional on-premise installs.

Even with agent installation, projects using cloud-based MDM can be fulfilled in hours rather than the days it can take to requisition hardware or get appliances installed. When it comes to proving value, it gives service providers a real opportunity to differentiate their enterprise service offerings.

Similarly, using cloud as a delivery model makes managing MDM implementations easier. This is a big consideration for the future of any IT project, as the on-going return on investment for customers depends on how simple it is to keep a track of device usage and update systems. If it takes a huge amount of effort to manage agents and keep systems up to date, then the returns will be lower.

The cloud model for MDM can help meet this challenge – not only does it speed up the delivery of a service, it also makes it easier to cope with new device updates and scalability. These issues can be important when you consider how quickly mobile devices can be “churned” by users, and the speed at which mobile operating systems get updated

CDG is now working with Fiberlink, the creators of MaaS360, to help our channel partners take advantage of new cloud-based MDM opportunities with customers and prospects. For more details on the partnership, visit the CDG website here, or read the Q&A with Fiberlink’s Simon Peralta.

If you would like to discuss how cloud-based MDM can fit within your solutions portfolio, please get in touch – contact us at info@cdguk.com or 0118 402 7130.

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Q: Where do you see MDM going in the next 12 months?

MDM and enterprise mobility are fast-moving technology areas, and the only certainty over the next 12 months is that the rate of change and innovation won’t be slowing down! This means customers and resellers really need to think about how they cope with the challenges and costs of change management, i.e. constant software updates. The hot areas that we’re seeing for 2013 are:

1) Mobile data cost control, particularly now that UK mobile operators have moved away from ‘unlimited’ data plans, and with 4G services launching

2) Securing enterprise data on both employee and company-owned devices using an encrypted app ‘container’

3) Managing devices via a scalable, multi-tenant cloud solution, which removes the cost and pain of change management

Q: How you stop MDM being seen as a ‘point’ solution?

Some customers are quite happy buying MDM as a point solution, as they have a very specific project in mind e.g. exec iPads, BlackBerry migration, BYOD. The sales cycle  for these deployments can be relatively fast so pitching a broader horizontal solution with other products and services may be overkill. It could even hand the advantage to another MDM reseller.

However sometimes customers are looking for a broader solution, including app development, app platform integration, secure remote access, or possibly network access control, which by design means that the sales cycle will be longer and more complex.  If these types of products aren’t in scope, then they can always be added as an upsell after the MDM solution is deployed.

MaaS360 is an agile cloud solution that is fast to deploy, scales rapidly and removes the need for constant appliance upgrades, so the aim is to maximise these strengths and keep the proposition as simple as possible.

Q: How do you see channel organisations being able to add value around MDM?

Resellers are able to add value to the MaaS360 service at various points of the customer lifecycle. For example, at the start of the project resellers can assist customers with defining their BYOD policy, MDM statement of works and MDM policies. They can get hands-on in the set-up of the service and deployment to end users. Post deployment the reseller can provide a partial or fully managed service to manage day-to-day MDM actions, e.g. policy updates or end user support. A reseller could look to proactively manage Mobile Expense Management on the customers’ behalf to prevent them incurring large data roaming bills. A fully managed service would also include proactively investigating serious compliance issues, e.g. jailbroken phones or rogue apps, and provide customers with monthly reports on the device estate and security status.

Q: What’s the number #1 selling point for MDM?

Security and compliance of smart devices – making sure your company is not at risk (technically or financially) from rogue devices connecting onto the network. MDM identifies devices that are jail-broken or rooted, with no encryption, or which have file-sharing software installed. These devices can, if required, be automatically quarantined and blocked from accessing corporate resources,  i.e .email, VPN, WiFi, apps or documents.

Q: How long does it take for customers to see a ROI from MDM?

It will vary, but if the customer has a clear technical or commercial driver and a budget then typically in under 60 days. Some customers need longer, e.g. IT need to justify the expense internally, but this kind of thing should be qualified up front during the initial sales engagement. This can then run in parallel with the technical evaluation, rather than sequentially.

Fiberlink is working with CDG UK to help channel partners take advantage of the opportunities around MDM  as companies expand the range of devices that users are able to work from.

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Online file sharing is a great example of where users have taken tech decisions into their own hands to boost productivity.  As a result, many apps for file sharing may not have been commissioned by IT, increasing the risk to data security.

The catch for partners looking to tap into the burgeoning market opportunity is how to stand out from the huge mix of consumer tech options that are available.  For partners to provide these solutions effectively, it is important that the value of management and security is not undersold.

CDG is working with Nomadesk to give channel partners compelling solutions for online file sharing that offer the security and compliance peace of mind that enterprises need.  To find out more or to book an Innovation Showcase please contact us – info@cdguk.com or 0118 402 7130.

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According to Gartner research, the consumerisation trend has hit IT like an unstoppable force. The research firm suggests that 1.2 billion smart devices, both smartphones and tablets, will be purchased in 2013.  That number is up from the 821 million devices already sold worldwide in 2012.

“For most businesses, smartphones and tablets will not entirely replace PCs, but the ubiquity of smartphones and the increasing popularity of tablets are changing the way businesses look at their device strategies and the way consumers embrace devices,” said Carolina Milanesi, research vice president at Gartner.

Milanesi says that by 2016, two-thirds of the mobile workforce will own a smartphone, and 40 percent of the workforce will be mobile. And tablets will be the key accelerator to mobility.  Gartner estimates that businesses will buy 53 million tablets by 2016.

With the growing rise in tablet sales, it seems likely that the devices will play a major role in the shift towards the post-PC era that we keep hearing about.

Technology leaders are facing a new challenge with the consumerisation of IT, as everyone, from desktop workers to executives, brings personal mobile devices into the workplace, expecting fast connections to the corporate network. And by accommodating personal devices in the workplace, organisations can extend worker productivity, since it allows employees to access devices, email and data at more times and in more places. With access to their desktops from anywhere, workers can collaborate with others without constraint.

But having the right Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) solution in place can greatly reduce the risks to security, business continuity, and the performance challenges introduced by the BYOD trend spawning from these new devices.

With carefully crafted BYOD policies in place, Virtual Bridges can address each of these BYOD risks, turning the challenge of the consumerisation of IT into a sustained benefit for the enterprise.

BYOD Risk 1 – Security Threats: Even with strict policies and data encryption, corporate security risks ratchet up under a BYOD program. With Virtual Bridges VDI, the data remains secure behind the keypad of the data center; data is not delivered to the user’s endpoint device.

BYOD Risk 2 – Loss of Business Continuity: Virtual Bridges addresses business continuity issues by maintaining control of the desktop at the server level. Users who connect to their desktops via mobile devices are connecting to a session running on the corporate servers.

BYOD Risk 3 – Performance Hits: With all the new devices demanding network access, BYOD can adversely impact network performance. Virtual Bridges avoids performance issues with its Cloud Branch technology – desktops are hosted on branch servers and managed from the data center, making VDI processing closer to the mobile devices in the field and helps avoid latency issues.

Virtual desktop technology is tailor-made to help manage the challenges of BYOD. The right VDI technology and approach can address the inherent risks of a BYOD program in an efficient and cost-effective manner. Whatever your enterprise’s desktop management strategy and BYOD policy, Virtual Bridges offers a solution to help mitigate the risks.

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