Vendor Landscape: Mobile Device Management Suites

Vendor Landscape: Mobile Device Management Suites

MDM is still a features arms race. Choose the right weapons.

Info-Tech Research Group

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Introduction

Mobile technology is changing rapidly, and so is mobile device management. Find out which vendors are keeping up.

This Research Is Designed For:

This Research Will Help You:

Enterprises seeking to select a mobile device

management (MDM) solution.

MDM use cases may include: ? Implementing a bring-your-own-device

(BYOD) program while maintaining visibility and control over devices.

? Enhancing security and manageability on

company-owned devices.

? Dealing with consumerization by managing

and supporting an increasing variety of consumer devices that are invading the enterprise.

Understand what's new in the MDM market.

Evaluate MDM vendors and products for your

enterprise needs.

Determine which products are most appropriate

for particular use cases and scenarios.

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Executive summary

Info-Tech evaluated twelve competitors in the MDM market, including the following notable performers:

Champions: ? MobileIron may be the best-known MDM vendor, for good reason.

Its product covers all the bases and continues to improve.

? AirWatch offers champion-level MDM at a reasonable price. ? Fiberlink has burst onto the MDM scene with advanced

functionality in a unique cloud-only package.

? SOTI has successfully turned a history in device management into

a champion MDM solution.

? Zenprise's powerful MDM stands out in security features and

integration.

? BoxTone has some unique mobile application development

features in addition to strong core MDM.

Value Award: ? BoxTone's entry price for core MDM can't be beat, and modules

can be added as greater capabilities are needed.

Trend Setter Award: ? Fiberlink is unique as a cloud-only vendor. The cloud model allows

MaaS 360 to keep up with rapid changes in mobile technology, and it shows in its trend-setting list of features.

Info-Tech Insight

1. Pure-play vendors come out on top:

Although necessarily younger and smaller, pure-play vendors ? those who only do MDM ? are innovating faster and offering more feature-rich products than the security vendors who have entered the MDM game as a branch of their larger business.

2. MDM is more important than ever:

Info-Tech has found that the prevalence of BYOD has nearly doubled in the past two years. Managing the influx of devices requires technology solutions ? and it's a tight race among the top MDM vendors to fill that need.

3. Innovation hasn't stopped:

Eventually the MDM market will see consolidation and commoditization, but the past year brought even more vendors entering the market and a continuing rush to add unique functionality.

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Market overview

How it got here

? Laptop computers were the first "mobile devices" to be used for corporate productivity, but usually remained in an office and were controlled by the mature management tools used by IT to secure desktop computers, applications, and documents.

? RIM's BlackBerry opened the door for smartphones as fully mobile business tools. IT continued to maintain control by issuing corporate-owned phones and managing them from the security-enhanced hub of BES.

? Then smartphones became ubiquitous. The iPhone 3G kicked off a flurry of employees bringing in a variety of their own phones (then later, tablets) running on a variety of operating systems, and expecting to be able to connect them to corporate resources. BES could no longer be the hub for managing devices, so MDM solutions were created to fill this gap.

? MDM began as a hub for management, but evolved as quickly as mobile technology itself. Vendors are now locked in an arms race to introduce new features.

Where it's going

? Vendors need to do more than centrally manage devices using native device capabilities and Exchange ActiveSync. The top vendors are working to circumvent device limitations to offer management on par with traditional desktop and laptop PCs.

? Security remains a focus as vendors juggle securing corporate data with the personal nature of devices.

? Application management is evolving, and vendors are rushing to incorporate document management as well. Increasingly, MDM is less about the device and more about the content on it.

? Many vendors are finding clever ways around mobile operating systems' limitations, such as Apple's strict control and Android's fragmentation.

? Windows 8 is an upcoming cross between traditional operating systems and mobile platforms that may or may not take the enterprise by storm. Expect MDM vendors to rush to support it when they get their hands on it later in 2012.

Mobile technology is changing quickly. Tablets are becoming common as enterprise productivity tools, ushering in a "post-PC world" where traditional computers are completely replaced by mobile devices. Choose an MDM vendor that goes beyond basic management to offer advanced functionality on all current platforms, and will continue to innovate as the mobile device landscape changes.

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MDM vendor selection / knock-out criteria: market share, mind share, and platform coverage

? For this Vendor Landscape, Info-Tech focused on those vendors that offer broad capabilities across multiple platforms

and that have a strong market presence and/or reputational presence among mid-sized enterprises.

? MDM is more than viewing a list of devices and remote wipe. Inclusion in this Vendor Landscape required advanced

features for enhancing the capabilities or overcoming limitations of major mobile platforms.

Included in this Vendor Landscape:

? AirWatch. Innovating quickly, AirWatch's general purpose solution is gaining attention and market share. ? BoxTone. A dedicated MDM vendor standing out with unique app development features. ? Fiberlink. New to the Vendor Landscape, Fiberlink's MaaS360 is a unique and innovative cloud-only MDM solution. ? Good. One of the best-known MDM vendors, with a focus on deep-pocketed companies with strict security. ? McAfee. A long history in security allows McAfee to provide functional MDM that secures devices. ? MobileIron. A young pure-play vendor that is quickly rising to become a well-known MDM provider. ? RIM. New this year, RIM has entered the general MDM market, using its experience with BlackBerry management. ? SAP. Its Afaria MDM product remains strong despite bouncing around through some acquisitions. ? Sophos. Brand new to the MDM market, Sophos's bare-bones MDM is off to a good start. ? SOTI. Coming from a history of industry-specific device management, SOTI is now a powerful general MDM vendor. ? Symantec. A well-established security vendor with a viable MDM product in their portfolio. ? Zenprise. A dedicated MDM vendor with premium security features.

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