The Next Wave of Enterprise Mobility

According to IDC, enterprise mobility is one of the fastest-growing markets across Asia Pacific[1] with mobile being one of the top three technology priorities for businesses in the region for 2015[2].

For the average user though, email and web browsing defines their mobile experience. Enterprises have been holding back on mobilizing more of their apps based on a number of reasons—user experience, cost, security to name a few.

But as more companies deploy Mobile Device Management (MDM) and now Enterprise Mobility Management (EMM) as part of their mobility architecture, this will drive the adoption of enterprise mobility beyond the initial stages that most organizations are today.

To enable full mobile productivity, organizations now seek more complete offerings that let them flexibly leverage application and content management, secure email and productivity apps as well.

On a strategic level, they now think about mobility in terms of mobile workspaces that provide access to apps, desktops, data and services anywhere, on any device, over any network—a trend with important implications for providers and customers alike. The evolution of enterprise mobility maps to a shifting mindset among IT around mobile devices and applications.

As consumer smartphones and tablets entered the workplace, and employees requested mobile access to corporate assets and email, IT was understandably concerned about security and manageability. The first enterprise mobility strategies allowed only a small handful of carefully managed apps for strictly limited use cases.

Over time, IT had to respond effectively to a growing list of requests and requirements to prevent users from turning to unmanaged, less secure workarounds. The embrace of MDM reflected a fallback to a familiar model: IT would manage devices the same way as any other endpoint, such as a laptop or desktop computer. While this addressed many needs, significant pain points remained. These challenges, and the solutions introduced to address them, have defined the current state of EMM.

Today’s notion of enterprise mobility management

As organizations’ perspective of enterprise mobility changes, the core IT issue is no longer focused entirely on the management of devices. Instead, enterprise mobility strategies today are focusing on the workflow processes and applications (apps) it can enable businesses with. The ultimate goal is to allow end-users to seamlessly move between mobile and desktop computing environments without having to make a duplicate purchase of every app that runs on the desktop. For instance, executives should be able to edit and annotate documents on their mobile devices without necessarily having a copy of the app originally required to be installed on the mobile device.

It is no longer about replicating the entire PC environment on a mobile device. Strategically, CIOs now view mobility in terms of mobile workspaces that provide access to personalized workflows of apps, desktops, data and services anywhere, on any device, over any network.

Moving beyond the device

The diversity of enterprise mobility use cases is leading IT to take on a more granular approach to management. Instead of the blanket approach of managing devices as a whole, EMM tools now allow IT to manage the mobile and Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) apps and the data it contains, as well as the transport between devices and the corporate network. IT can apply policies selectively based on specific use cases, user personas, device ownership and even vertical industry requirement among other variables.

For instance, doctors can access electronic medical records (EMRs) and clinical apps on their tablets from the patient’s bedside, while conducting house visits. Retail workers are able to provide on-the-spot inventory checks or accept payments from customers on smart mobile devices on-demand. The key to success is not about which platform or device to support, instead it is about identifying mobile use cases and data, and creating more specialized services to get to the data that is needed, when it is needed.

It’s all about the apps and user experience

Today, mobile apps account for only about 8 percent of the applications in the enterprise. However, with more than 50 percent of large organizations worldwide investing in enhanced EMM capabilities to secure apps and data in 2015, the number of enterprise apps optimized for mobility is set to quadruple by 2016[3]. IT needs to enable a follow-me data capability to employees’ mobile workspaces by making any kind of app available on any kind of device, and providing employees with simplified access to Windows, web and SaaS apps on their mobile devices.

As with any other part of IT, user acceptance is a major factor in the success of technology. Vendors also need to provide business-grade capabilities while offering the consumer-like experiences people are familiar with. A corporate email client can’t require people to adapt to a completely different look-and-feel from the iOS or Android they’ve been using, but it does need to offer essential business features, like the ability to add an attachment to a meeting invitation, or join a meeting right from its calendar listing.

Enterprise mobility is now mainstream

Enterprise mobility is now poised to fully realize its promise. Organizations are transforming their business today by adopting a comprehensive EMM solution as a core component of their secure workspace delivery strategy. Recently, Gartner positioned Citrix in the Leaders quadrant of the 2015 Magic Quadrant for EMM Suites report for the fourth consecutive year, evaluating Citrix XenMobile as a comprehensive and flexible EMM solution for managing apps, data and devices with a broad set of business optimized mobile apps[4].

By ensuring secure, on-demand access to applications, desktops, data and services anywhere, over any network, from any device—not just smartphones and tablets—organizations can empower mobile workers with the freedom and flexibility to choose how they work. MDM has shifted from a category-defining solution to a utility feature of a larger, more integrated solution and the base of enterprise mobility platforms. While the secure delivery of mobile workspaces relies on EMM, it also requires broader functionality for enterprise file sync and sharing, flexible application delivery, networking, and virtual windows application and desktop delivery. With the emergence of mobile workspaces, work has finally been transformed from a place where people go, to something they can do wherever and on whatever device they choose.

[1] IDC, Asia/Pacific Enterprise Mobility

[2] Gartner, Gartner Survey Finds Digital Business Will Drive 75 Percent of CIOs in Asia/Pacific and Japan to Adapt Leadership by 2018, March 18, 2015

[3] IDC, IDC Reveals Worldwide Mobile Enterprise Applications and Solutions Predictions for 2015, December 18, 2014

[4] Citrix, Citrix Named a Leader in the Magic Quadrant for Enterprise Mobility Management for the Furth Consecutive Year, June 11, 2015