Managing Mobility and Content for the Mobile Cloud

Saugatuck clients would be interested in a recent Strategic Perspective which examines the current status and implications of the Mobile Cloud. In it, we look at the management and content issues that are becoming of increasing importance as apps proliferate and new generations of powerful smartphone and tablet devices enter the workplace.

The Mobile Cloud creates new synergies between mobile devices and content sources that is creating a wide range of new opportunities and challenges across the enterprise. Saugatuck has been tracking these implications in our vision of the Boundary Free Enterprise, which combines Mobility, Social Networking and Cloud. The Mobile Cloud introduces new management, programming and deployment requirements that demand attention. Software tools are now being developed by a wide variety of vendors to provide these services.

Mobile devices are introducing a range of new challenges including:

Device and operating system heterogeneity
Heightened security risks for easy theft of small poorly secured devices
Network access issues
Development issues in creating and deploying apps to numerous devices
New usage paradigms whose security and support implications have not yet been considered

To these challenges, the Content Clouds add a range of security and access issues that need to be addressed to ensure that mobile devices can be used effectively and securely within the enterprise environment.

Opportunities include the capability to provide immediate data access in the field as well as mobile sensor input to the Cloud. Users are also familiar with mobile devices and willing to use them for a wide range services. As mobile usage continues to evolve, these opportunities and the resultant competitive advantages are driving mobility into the enterprise. But, within the enterprise, it is essential that these devices be integrated into the firm not only at the hardware and software level, but also in processes and governance.

Note: Ongoing Saugatuck subscription clients can access this premium research piece (1110MKT) by clicking here, and inputting your ID and password. Non-clients can purchase and download this premium research piece by clicking here.

Brian Dooley

Brian J. Dooley is a Strategy Consultant and Associate Research Analyst with Saugatuck Technology. Originally from the US, Mr. Dooley now resides in New Zealand – providing global and regional insight and market analysis on a wide range of technologies, including business intelligence, collaboration, cloud computing, agile software development, as well as international telecommunications.

Mr. Dooley is an author, analyst, and journalist with more than 30 years' experience in analyzing and writing about trends in IT. He has written six books, numerous user manuals, hundreds of reports, and more than 1,000 magazine features. Previously, he was a Senior Analyst for Datapro (Gartner), and a Senior Product Information Specialist for Unisys Corp. As an independent analyst, he has worked with many of the top firms in the research and analysis industry, as well as for industry clients around the globe.

Mr. Dooley is a graduate of McGill University, with graduate work at the University of Pennsylvania’s Annenberg School in Cybernetics, Information Theory, Statistics and Communications. He initiated and is on the board for the Graduate Diploma of Technical Communication program at Christchurch Institute of Technology, and he was on the editorial advisory board for Faulkner Technical Reports.

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