IBM Mobile devices Whitepaper

IBM Software January 2012
Thought Leadership White Paper

Getting a better grip on mobile
devices
Solutions and strategies for managing both employee-owned and
enterprise-owned equipment

2 Getting a better grip on mobile devices

Contents Introduction
The increasing use of smartphones and tablet computers as
2 Introduction business tools has brought organizations and their employees
3 The consumerization of IT is changing device new levels of productivity, flexibility and mobility. But their
management use is a double-edged sword, bringing with it new levels of
3 Security is a key driver of mobile device management complexity to IT management and security.

4 Managing mobile applications is the next big thing To cope, organizations need to put into place new policies for
business use. Will employees be permitted to use their personal
5 The management application: Suite vs. point solutions
devices, or is there a company-owned standard? What is the
6 Management technology: Agents vs. agentless control most effective management technology, for the environment?
What management tools—full suite or point solutions—will
7 An emerging focus on the enterprise app store
meet IT needs for manageability and availability, as well as
8 IBM solutions deliver a new management paradigm business needs for cost-effectiveness?

10 Adopting an action plan paves the way for success And organizations always need to ensure that devices and
10 Steps to mobile management success data remain secure in an environment where loss and theft
are common.
11 Conclusion
On today’s fast-moving, highly competitive smarter planet,
11 For more information
where data gathering, information sharing and decision making
11 About Tivoli software from IBM must continue regardless of the user’s location, the mobile device

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is destined to continue growing in popularity and importance. Security is a key driver of mobile device
And as smartphones and tablet computers expand their roles management
from personal communications devices to key interfaces for Even when used only for email and calendar access, a smart-
enterprise applications, the accompanying opportunities for phone can contain confidential and sometimes regulated
business growth and the challenges for IT management will business information. An unsecured device stolen from a
demand the same exacting standards that organizations apply briefcase at a meeting or left behind in a taxi can easily put
to the rest of their technology environments. sensitive information into the wrong hands.

The consumerization of IT is changing Worse still, if the device can access even more sensitive business
device management applications, any device theft or loss, employee termination,
Smartphones, tablet computers and other mobile devices are in hacking or corruption can mean the loss of unique information
the enterprise to stay. One recent survey of smartphone users created with those applications. And it may give the thief, finder,
found that 83 percent of users considered their device more former employee, hacker or malware purveyor access into the
important than their morning cup of coffee. Some 79 percent organization’s data stores or centrally managed business
said they use their smartphone more than their office or home applications.
phone to conduct business. And 34 percent use it more than
their computer.1 Security, as a result, is a paramount reason for managing
smartphones, tablet computers and other mobile devices.
The use in business of a device that began in consumer Effective mobile device management enables IT to deploy,
electronics—sometimes called the “consumerization of IT”— configure, command and control endpoint security technologies
can significantly empower employees. Allowing employees to on a wide range of devices. It enables integration and manage-
use their personal devices for work, as many users prefer in ment of best-of-breed mobile security technologies with an
order to avoid carrying multiple devices, lets them select the enterprise management solution.
platform and form factor with which they are most comfortable.
It enables them to move seamlessly, anytime anywhere, from Similarly, effective management controls enforce security
personal to business functions. Allowing employees to use their policies, such as a requirement to enter a personal identification
own devices can also save organizations the cost of equipment number (PIN) before the device can be activated. To guard
purchase. against data theft, IT should be able to remotely wipe the
device clean of company-related contents.


Managing mobile applications is the next independent solutions for mobile device management. An
big thing effective solution is scalable to support the rapidly growing
For mobile devices, voice and email were just the beginning. number of devices, cross-platform to manage the diversity
These were followed by the ability to easily download consumer of devices, and secure to support device and data integrity
applications directly from the device. The next step is the in out-of-office environments. Vendor services can include
development and deployment of business applications through development of business applications, an enterprise application
enterprise application stores. This will make mobile versions of store for easy distribution of applications to devices, and
third-party software for functions such as customer relationship outsourcing to relieve the infrastructure requirements and IT
management or software developed for the organization’s unique workloads as it speeds and streamlines device management.
business or technology needs widely and easily available to
authorized users. An effective mobile device management
solution will provide IT with the tools to deploy and manage Solutions for mobility: Application lifecycle management
these applications, and it will integrate with other solutions
and services designed to create and support applications. While some aspects of the development of a mobile applica-
tion are unique, the application development lifecycle follows
Mobile device management solutions can also support compli- the same pattern as for other kinds of software. Application
ance with regulatory requirements by ensuring that device lifecycle management (ALM) is necessary to ensure controlled
configuration or security solutions are properly deployed and development and delivery of high quality mobile applications
managed. Management solutions can help enhance device within the budget constraints and time objectives. Even more
important is that lifecycle management functions be inte-
performance and employee productivity by managing settings
grated with each other and also with the tools needed for
such as screen resolution. They also can track and assess
uniquely mobile development tasks. IBM Rational® software
software use to ensure that the organization has the proper offers industry-leading solutions for lifecycle management that
number of licenses—neither too many nor too few—for its are augmented with mobile-specific capabilities for design,
employees’ devices. coding, security analysis and testing. By leveraging the
publicly available Jazz technology for tool integration and
IT organizations need mobile device management solutions that collaborative team development, Rational addresses the full
can be integrated with existing management infrastructure— mobile development project lifecycle with traceability from
enabling smartphones and tablet computers to be treated as part inception to completion.
of the overall IT environment and eliminating the need for

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The management application: A unified approach with centralized management efficiencies,
Suite vs. point solutions enhanced visibility into diverse devices and their configurations,
From the user’s perspective, employing a mobile device— and consistent cross-platform reporting can play a key role in
especially an employee-owned device—to support business getting under control what can be a mammoth task, if handled
applications and communications can simplify work processes. piecemeal.
One major enterprise has reported an average time savings of
47 minutes a day, about 10 percent of the typical workday, and Significantly, a unified approach enhances security and stream-
increased productivity when employees were allowed to use the lines reporting for mobile devices. Unified control manages
devices with which they are most familiar and comfortable.2 diverse devices in a consistent manner, eliminating gaps that can
occur with multiple point solutions in the way security is applied
From the IT perspective, however, the proliferation of mobile and the way vulnerabilities are reported. The result can simplify
devices and the accompanying diversity of operating platforms— operations for the user and support greater security for the
most commonly those running Apple iOS and Google Android organization.
operating systems—creates complexity in management. The
downside of simplifying users’ processes with complex and
diverse backend technologies can create heavy IT workloads, Solutions for mobility: IBM Global Technology Services
management headaches and increased chance of error. Problems
can be compounded when IT attempts to manage diverse IBM Mobile Enterprise Services offers solutions designed to
mobile devices using point solutions that address only specific address enterprise mobility challenges across the entire
management tasks, platforms or devices. mobile device lifecycle—from procurement and deployment
to mobile device management and security to custom
application development and deployment. Flexible solutions
And while existing device management solutions may be
that accommodate a variety of mobile devices address a
effective at handing traditional endpoints, they typically are
wide range of worker requirements, from day-to-day device
not well adapted for the special requirements of mobile devices.
management and support to application upgrades and
The lack of solutions for managing both traditional and mobile coordination of deployments, rapid on-boarding of new users,
endpoints, as a result, has forced IT organizations to use support and problem resolution for end users and assistance
standalone solutions for managing mobile devices. Yet as the with device configuration, setup and troubleshooting.
number and functionality of devices grows, the need for an
integrated suite solution becomes increasingly important.


Management technology: many users. Disadvantages lie in the reduced control over
Agents vs. agentless control devices: IT has fewer capabilities at its disposal and cannot
Any organization that allows employees to use their personal enforce continuous compliance.
mobile devices for work sooner or later encounters the same
question: What technology should IT use to manage a device A third management technology approach, however, does exist.
that belongs to an individual? The debate continues regarding Balancing different IT organizations’ needs for control and
agent-based versus agentless management, as there are advan- security with the users’ preference for a less intrusive approach,
tages and disadvantages to each. the most effective mobile device management solutions enable
both agent-based and agentless capabilities. This approach also
Agent-based management places a small piece of “agent” can reach a larger number of operating platforms than a single
software on the device itself that interacts with server-based approach—a significant advantage where some operating
management software to enable functions such as turning the systems do not allow agents to be installed on devices and where
device on or off, changing configurations, managing applica- management capabilities also vary with the OS.
tions, enforcing encryption or wiping data and applications
from memory. Advantages lie in the significant levels of control
and extensive capabilities that this approach enables. Remote Solutions for mobility: IBM Cognos software
management, controlled by IT as needed, can be automated
to ensure all operations are carried out and that they function IBM Cognos® Mobile enables users to interact with trusted
correctly. The disadvantage lies in the requirement to install business intelligence content on tablet computers, enabling
the agent on the mobile device: Users may not want the them to seamlessly view and interact with business reports,
organization to place management software on their personal dashboards and analysis either offline or online. Supporting
smartphone or tablet. timely and accurate decisions based on up-to-date informa-
tion, the solution makes it easy to get to the right level of
information when users need it, including location-aware
Agentless management employs a synchronization approach that
intelligence that provides information based on the user’s
requires users to connect to a central management site to initiate
location. The ability to leverage existing business intelligence
management functions through the corporate email system. The content and a single administrative environment helps IT
advantage lies in the fact that no software from the organization keep up with the demands of users on varied devices.
resides on the device, making this approach more palatable to

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An emerging focus on the enterprise ●● Provisioning applications directly from the app store to the
app store mobile device
Capabilities for mobile device management are rapidly
●● Monitoring of software use and device configurations to
evolving—but IT preferences are already beginning to emerge ensure compliance with industry and government regulations
that favor suite solutions, combine agent-based and agentless
●● Policy creation and management that integrates mobile devices
management, and deliver high scalability, reliable security and with the technology infrastructure and supports business goals
cross-platform functionality that integrates with the organiza-
tion’s other IT management solutions to create a unified To ensure application performance and compliance, manage-
management approach. ment solutions will automate solutions such as application
updating and monitoring, configuration monitoring and
Security management, inventory management, policy manage- remediation, and role-based user access.
ment and software distribution will be core functions, with
capabilities such as Software as a Service (SaaS), managed and
outsourced services, custom software development and support Solutions for mobility: Managing network expansion
for app stores growing in significance.
Smartphones and tablets are driving increased data
The enterprise application store, in fact, is central to the volumes—requiring, as a result, new strategies from IT
evolution of smartphones, tablet computers and other mobile administrators. Often, these strategies involve network
devices from basic communications to highly functional business expansion, traffic distribution or network optimization. In the
case of network expansion, IBM Tivoli® Netcool® tools, with
capabilities. The success of the evolution, however, will require a
the highly scalable tiered architecture of Netcool/OMNIbus,
number of supporting functions—from policies that reinforce
can help manage the alarms and events from the larger
business operations and support users, to reporting that delivers
networks. Netcool tools can help collect the network statistics
insights for better and expanded functions, to security measures and provide reports and information for capacity planning.
that reduce risk. Specific functions available now and anticipated
in the coming years include:

●● Security management to guard against unauthorized use or
corruption of data due to theft, loss, hacking, malware attacks
or employees moving to the competition


IBM solutions deliver a new management IBM Endpoint Manager for Mobile Devices provides real-time
paradigm visibility into the state of mobile devices and gives administrators
IBM Endpoint Manager for Mobile Devices, built on BigFix® advanced functionality for managing those devices. As a
technology, enables organizations to provide security and comprehensive “single source of truth” for managing up
manage smartphones, tablet computers and other devices to 250,000 devices from a single management server,
based on the Apple iOS, Google Android, Nokia Symbian IBM Endpoint Manager for Mobile Devices can shorten
and Microsoft Windows Phone platforms. update cycles, improve the success rates for provisioning,
reduce IT and help-desk labor requirements and boost end
Leveraging the IBM Endpoint Manager infrastructure, which user productivity.
provides a single platform for managing servers, desktops,
laptops and mobile devices running Windows, UNIX, Linux
and Mac operating systems, this solution provides a unified Solutions for mobility: IBM Maximo software
approach for managing diverse devices. Consolidating manage-
ment across the infrastructure, IBM Endpoint Manager for The IBM Maximo® Mobile Suite provides remote access to
Mobile Devices: Maximo Asset Management processes, giving IT administra-
tors the ability to use mobile devices to support compliance,
●● Delivers a flexible and powerful paradigm for managing improve efficiencies, increase productivity and enhance
decision making. The Maximo solution delivers the ability to
employee- and corporate-owned mobile devices using a
conduct asset audits, maintain asset configurations, and
combination of email-based and agent-based management,
receive, track and maintain inventory. IT administrators can
while preserving the native device experience
exchange data with the application server using real-time
●● Ensures security functions by configuring and enforcing wireless, dial-up or docking cradle connections. And they
passcode policies and encryption—and selectively wiping can store and forward data when continuous connections are
enterprise data when devices are lost, stolen or compromised not feasible.
●● Automatically identifying non-compliant devices and denying
email access or issuing user notifications until corrective
actions are implemented

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Supporting enterprise application stores to serve mobile devices, capabilities put real-time device data at administrators’ fingertips
IBM Endpoint Manager for Mobile Devices provides policy- with capabilities to assist end users in resolving IT issues,
based installation, closed-loop verification and the ability to helping ensure that device configurations remain current and
manage software distribution from a single, unified point of compliant with organizational policies.
control. It delivers high first-pass success rates with minimal
impact on network performance. And it offers user self-
provisioning of authorized applications and software packages.
Solutions for mobility: IBM Lotus applications

Application management capabilities automatically track Employees today expect to take their desktops with them on
installed applications, offer recommended applications their mobile device, stay engaged with professional networks
and detect blacklisted applications. For managing devices, through collaboration tools and access web content wherever
IBM Endpoint Manager for Mobile Devices captures and stores they work. Customers also expect access to web content from
detailed device data, including inventory data such as device mobile devices. Security-rich IBM mobile software and
model and serial number, usage data such as last connection services can provide productivity and social collaboration
time, and hardware information such as firmware and memory, tools on mobile devices. IBM Lotus Notes® applications, email,
as well as operating system version, location information and instant messaging, exceptional web experiences, professional
networks, business intelligence reports and online meetings
network details.
all are supported on a wide variety of smartphones and
tablets.
Support features enable management and troubleshooting
of devices that can streamline IT functions and reduce the
workload on the organization’s help desk. Remote diagnostics


Adopting an action plan paves the way
Solutions for mobility: Application development and for success
deployment With the business use of smartphones, tablet computers and
other mobile devices continuing to grow rapidly, it is not too
IBM is developing a set of capabilities for software developers
early for organizations to plan to actively manage these mobile
who are building visually rich, interactive mobile applications
resources. A number of steps are necessary for implementing an
that will work across a variety of mobile devices. These
effective mobile device management strategy.
capabilities provide a set of application services, enterprise
connectors, application and device management features,
and accompanying integrated tooling—all implemented using
industry-standard web technologies to maximize existing
investments in skills and infrastructure. In addition, the
capabilities can help development organizations to control
who has access to specific applications and updates, get
insight into application use and add security measures to
ensure that application data and access is safe and secure.
The full spectrum of mobile development approaches
including native, hybrid and web will be supported.

Steps to mobile management success
Inventory devices Locate and identify the devices currently in use in the business environ- ✓
ment, including the numbers of employee- and corporate-owned devices.
Project the numbers expected to be in use 24 months from now and which
applications they will be accessing

Identify features Determine which features the organization requires in a mobile device ✓
management solution

Evaluate solutions Outside a lab environment, test and evaluate potential solutions, checking ✓
scalability to meet the organization’s growing needs, time to implementation
and ease of operation

Develop policies Create or update relevant policies and training for device and application ✓
use and for role-based application and data access

Consider costs In selecting and implementing a solution, take into account the full range ✓
of costs, from software licensing to factors that influence the total cost
of ownership including hardware purchase and maintenance, system
implementation and related consulting fees, staff training, system
administration and upgrade costs

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Conclusion Leveraging IBM’s leading ability to manage complex technolo-
As the business use of smartphones, tablet computers and gies and business environments, IBM Endpoint Manager for
other mobile devices increases, organizations are facing Mobile Devices provides comprehensive coverage from mobile
device and application management needs that do not fit the device management to application development, support for
traditional endpoint management paradigm. To meet these app store development, outsourcing and security management.
needs, organizations are putting into place new policies, deter-
mining the most effective management technologies for their For more information
respective environments and selecting management products To learn more about IBM Endpoint Manager for Mobile
for their unique needs. Devices, contact your IBM representative or IBM Business
Partner, or visit: ibm.com/tivoli/solutions/endpoint/mdmbeta
In the face of the complexity that huge numbers of devices
and multiple operating systems bring, however, the traditional About Tivoli software from IBM
reliance on point solutions that manage mobile device manage- Tivoli software from IBM helps organizations efficiently
ment separately from the rest of the IT infrastructure is proving and effectively manage IT resources, tasks and processes to
to be inadequate. The need to speed and streamline manage- meet ever-shifting business requirements and deliver flexible
ment, avoid ballooning IT workloads, integrate mobile device and responsive IT service management, while helping to reduce
management with management of the full IT infrastructure, cost. The Tivoli portfolio spans software for security, compli-
and more efficiently serve users is driving adoption of a more ance, storage, performance, availability, configuration, operations
comprehensive and unified management approach. and IT lifecycle management, and is backed by world-class
IBM services, support and research. For more information
IBM Endpoint Manager for Mobile Devices gives organizations on Tivoli software from IBM, visit: ibm.com/tivoli
an effective and efficient way to manage the growing number
of mobile devices—owned by employees as well as the Additionally, IBM Global Financing can help you acquire the IT
organization—used in business today. Eliminating the need to solutions that your business needs in the most cost-effective and
implement a separate infrastructure solely for mobile devices, strategic way possible. We’ll partner with credit-qualified clients
this unified solution provides high levels of application and to customize an IT financing solution to suit your business goals,
security management across diverse mobile devices, including enable effective cash management, and improve your total cost
those utilizing the Apple iOS, Google Android, Nokia Symbian of ownership. IBM Global Financing is your smartest choice to
and Microsoft Windows Phone operating systems. fund critical IT investments and propel your business forward.
For more information, visit: ibm.com/financing

© Copyright IBM Corporation 2012

IBM Corporation Software Group
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Produced in the United States of America
January 2012

IBM, the IBM logo, ibm.com, BigFix, Cognos, Lotus Notes, Maximo,
Netcool, Rational, and Tivoli are trademarks or registered trademarks of
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Other company, product and service names may be trademarks or service
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References in this publication to IBM products and services do not
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Product data has been reviewed for accuracy as of the date of initial
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IBM Mobile devices Whitepaper

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