Welcome to the latest edition of Inside Looking Out. This past week, I spoke with Bob Tinker, President and CEO of MobileIron. Never heard of MobileIron? Well you should.
I met Bob and his team on my trip out to the west coast a month ago. At that stage, the company was still in stealth mode, but was able to share with me their pretty interesting vision. Last week, MobileIron officially joined the EMM party. In between events, I was able to catch Bob on the phone.
Enterprise Mobility Matters: Hi Bob. It's great speaking with you again and congratulations on the official launch. While your mind is so focused on the launch, let me see if I can keep you on your toes here!
Enterprise Mobility has changed a lot in the last few years. What would you say is the greatest recent advancement?
Bob Tinker: Hi Philippe. Thanks for your well wishes for the launch. We're all pretty excited here.
To answer your question, the greatest advancement in my mind is the ability to be always connected. High speed data networks are pervasive. There is a plethora of smartphones from Blackberry to iPhone, to Symbian, to Windows Mobile. Enterprise mobility has evolved from the occasionally connected “laptop in the bag” to an always connected smartphone. You can feel an enormous increase in the velocity of communication and collaboration. It has fundamentally changed the way people work---and play.
EMM: Are companies looking at mobility differently today as compared to a few years ago?
BT: Very differently. Companies now view mobility as a tool for everyone. Mobility has spread from the c-suite and field service teams to everyone in the company. Mobility is a powerful tool that improves productivity up and down the organization. IT organizations are now supporting thousands of smartphones, and doing so on a global basis. Enterprise data is moving out to the smartphone. And, mobile expenses have exploded ... one company we work with spent $60M on mobile services last year. Mobility has gone from a rounding error to a main-line item for both the CIO and CFO.
EMM: How do you see the economy impacting mobility in the enterprise? When are we going to see an upturn in the (our) market?
BT: The economy has certainly affected IT spend in mobility, but less so than most sectors. Even in a down economy, the sales of smartphones and the platforms required to support them have stayed relatively strong. This speaks to the underlying belief that mobility improves productivity and morale…people and organizations will sacrifice elsewhere in order to stay mobile.
There is a subtle trend here as well - companies have asked IT to find a way to support employee-owned smartphones to reduce cost and increase employee choice. It’s awkward for IT…they need a way to draw an enterprise data boundary to balance enterprise security with employee privacy.
EMM: What do you think is the greatest current opportunity for enterprise mobility?
BT: Bringing lessons from consumer mobility into the enterprise. End-users are both employees and consumers. The pace of innovation in the latest smartphones or the newest services is enormous…new applications, new collaboration services, or even delivery models like appstores. There is a huge opportunity for the enterprise to adopt and morph these innovations to accomplish their business goals. We are seeing enterprises build their own appstores, embrace file sharing services, and even adopt SMS as a viable way to communicate with employees.
EMM: What do you think is the greatest risk for organizations right now?
BT: Data security is the classic risk. But, the risks have evolved. It’s less about the block-and-tackling encryption and password policies in order to protect a lost device. It’s now about a more complex risk of individual behavior, data movement, and knowing what enterprise data is out on your mobile devices. There is a huge amount of data moving in and out of enterprise smartphones, whether through email, via SD cards, or via 3rd party web services. The next wave of mobile security will be focused on behavior and data movement.
EMM: What steps should executives take to ensure the success of their mobility implementations?
BT: Two things: 1) Involve end-users and 2) Think about mobility as a true IT service. End-users care deeply about mobility. It’s a very intimate service…it’s a 24/7 relationship between the employee and the enterprise. Mobility is also very complex - smartphones are harder than laptops ever were. It’s difficult to standardize in a cookie cutter way. End-users want smartphone choice. Carrier plans are expensive and complex. IT gets a frustrating mix of anecdotal stories about how well their mobile services are performing. Applications behave differently when mobile. Enterprises that are serious about mobile are investing in platforms and expertise to deliver mobility as a mainstream IT service like they do other services. The key is to balance the visibility and predictability IT needs with the rising expectations of the end-user.
Mobility has evolved from a side job of the telecom group to a mainstream IT Service that impacts company productivity. If mobile stops working, users get mad. The upside is that mobility is one of the few IT projects for which end-users send thank you emails!
EMM: One last question. Mobility management has a lot of different components to it (nine by my count). If you had to name ONE component you thought was MOST important – the one that a company MUST deploy, what would it be and why?
BT: Tough question. I would say visibility into their mobile environment. In some ways enterprises are their own mini mobile operators. They need to know what’s out there, how people are using it, how much it will cost, how users are experiencing their mobile services, and what apps and services are available. It's time to get proactive about mobility and you can't do that without visibility.
Thank you Bob for taking the time to chat with me about your views on Enterprise Mobility. It's always a pleasure speaking with you and I am sure the readers of this blog appreciate hearing your thoughts. Best of luck with the launch of MobileIron!
So there you go. Do you know anyone who should be a guest here on Inside Looking Out? Drop me a line.