Mobility

TL;DR (Too Long; Didn't Read): In today's business world, mobility is fundamental, enabling access to essential data and seamless communication regardless of location. Enterprises embrace various mobile technologies, such as hotspots, routers, Wi-Fi, and satellite connections, with mobile data becoming a commodity. Managed Mobility Services (MMS) have emerged as a strategic solution, offering expert management of mobile infrastructure, devices, and applications. This outsourcing streamlines operations, reduces costs, and enhances productivity. Mobile Voice, including native voice, VoLTE, and SIP trunking, adds complexity. Mobile Device Management (MDM) plays a crucial role in securing devices and data, ensuring corporate information remains protected even in BYOD scenarios. MDM separates business and personal data and facilitates remote wiping. Additionally, robust helpdesk support is essential, providing timely assistance for mobile device issues. These elements together ensure businesses harness the full potential of mobility, staying competitive and agile in the dynamic market landscape.

In today's fast-paced business environment, mobility has become a cornerstone of enterprise operations and generally the least discussed. The ability to access crucial data, communicate, and collaborate on-the-go has significantly transformed the way businesses operate. This refers to the use of mobile devices and applications to conduct business activities seamlessly, regardless of location (meeting the user where they are at). This trend has given rise to various technologies and strategies aimed at ensuring efficiency, security, and seamless communication within and outside the organization.

You can break up mobility into a few different categories; Data, Voice, and Services.

Data

These include hotspots (MiFi), routers (Cradlepoint, Peplink, Digi) used as a backup or primary connection, or wireless technologies like Wi-Fi and Satellite. There are many ways to procure mobile data that its future is more of a commodity and pricing is a “race to zero” and, in the future, be just known under the connectivity and network bucket.

Voice

What we all know and love today as cell-phones. The primary access of this is through the MNOs but there are MVNOs, although a lot fewer than data-only, that support this as well. Reason being, it’s simple, it is much more complex to support a cell-phone user than just a data device. Companies that excelled in the data space have failed in the voice space for this reason.

Services

Managed Mobility Services (MMS) encompass a range of services, including Mobile Device Management (MDM), staging and kitting, application management, expense management, and help desk support. Through proactive monitoring and expert guidance, MMS ensure that an organization's mobile ecosystem operates seamlessly, allowing employees to focus on their tasks without being encumbered by technical issues.

I'm sure this is you right about now, let's discuss the deets.

What should we know about mobile data? There are many carriers out there internationally (740+ in 217 countries) but let’s start by focusing on the US. Our primary providers (MNOs - Mobile Network Operators) are AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon with some bands in the US Cellular space. If an entity is looking for mobile data they can procure directly from these carriers or they can through a Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO) a.k.a. Mobile Aggregator. These companies have a buy rate on a per Gigabyte(GB) per month level and resell to the end client. Most MVNOs are data only operators but there are some that allow for Voice as well. Voice isn't just what we know and love on our personal cell phones, I mean that is an option but there are others and each has their own benefits and drawbacks.

Native Voice

Voice transmission using the phone application on the device like the iPhone “Phone” app or Android’s. This uses a voice channel that is different than a data connection so even if there is congestion or distance from towers resulting in no data then it’s still possible to have a good voice conversation. However, with this solution, call and text analytics are extremely limited natively.

VoLTE (Voice over LTE)

This is a softphone app that runs over the data connection, previously only known as LTE, now being replaced where possible with 5G hence the name VoLTE. The softphone app typically comes from a Unified Communications (UCaaS) provider and would be a separate app than the native phone app. Since it runs over data it is limited to the quality of the connection but there are way better analytics and call control.

Mobile SIP Trunking

A newer offering that has come to market where a specialized Unified Communications provider integrates with the carrier via API and sends SIP trunks from their Class 5 Soft-Switches to the carrier network to send voice to the native phone/text apps. If this was gibberish to you, then you can simplify it as you can use the native phone app like you would with the carriers like AT&T, T-Mobile, or Verizon but the voice traffic is being transmitted through a 3rd party allowing for analytics and call control.

How 'bout them services?

Managed Mobility Services (MMS) have emerged as a strategic solution for businesses navigating the complexities of a mobile-driven world. MMS providers manage a company's mobile infrastructure, devices, applications, and security protocols so businesses can streamline their operations, reduce costs, and enhance productivity. One thing we haven't expanded on yet is staging and kitting. This is when the devices after procurement are sent to the managed mobility provider and they will unbox, install necessary software defined by the company, add the MDM solution, and any accessories ordered. In other words, they are a device-readiness service for unboxing ready to go for the end user. Managed Mobility Services have shown invaluable ROI and enable businesses to stay agile and secure while providing employees with the tools and support they need to thrive in the mobile-centric workplace.

Mobile Device Management (MDM) plays a pivotal role in enterprise mobility by controlling and securing mobile devices used by employees. MDM solutions enable IT departments to enforce security policies, manage applications, and remotely troubleshoot issues, ensuring that sensitive corporate data remains protected whether the company provides the devices or supports BYOD (Bring Your Own Device). It works by containerizing (separating) the business data from the personal and give the business control of only what is relevant. This is important when it comes to features like remote device wiping where the company can remove all data from the admin panel of the software. Previously, the employee’s personal data would also need to be deleted (full factory reset) but with MDM, only the business data is removed. One thing to note is that MDM doesn’t include the additional security components like anti-malware, endpoint detection and response, etc; that would be Mobile Endpoint Security (MES). Companies are leveraging both of these technologies to offer a more comprehensive mobile security solution.

Additionally, a robust and specialized helpdesk system is essential for supporting a mobile workforce since employees rely on various mobile devices and applications and encounter technical issues. From a service perspective, a help desk is generally provided in the 12x5 (12 hours by 5 days a week for open times) or 24x7, obviously more costly. This ensures that mobile devices and applications function smoothly, minimizing downtime and optimizing productivity. Moreover, helpdesk services can offer valuable insights into recurring issues, enabling organizations to proactively address mobility-related challenges and enhance user experience. You will find that an IT team has a lesser competency with mobility than typical IT needs; to have this portion at least as a service would assist tremendously. This can also be validated with outsourced IT staff and help desk as a service companies, their mobility support is rarely ever a strong point.

In essence, the value of mobility in the enterprise space cannot be overstated. It promotes flexibility, collaboration, and efficiency, allowing businesses to adapt to rapidly changing market demands. By implementing technologies like MDM, MMS, MES, and establishing reliable helpdesk support, enterprises can harness the full potential of mobility, gaining a competitive edge in today's dynamic business landscape without the usual headaches.

Page updated

Google Sites

Report abuse