A simple upgrade in technology is not enough today to address the challenges of deploying and managing too many incompatible devices that perform different functions for different users.
Those are the words of Lisa London in a piece for IndustryWeek last year.
As businesses have grown increasingly complex, London says, they have become increasingly reliant upon mobile technology to boost productivity and keep workers connected. The trouble with executing a mobility strategy today, she argues, is that maintaining a suite of applications for various devices and platforms is complicated, and different users have different needs.
Multiple operating systems are a key part of this complexity, says London, and it’s difficult for companies today to remain flexible and agile with so many variables involved in a sound mobility strategy. We agree with London up until this point. Her suggestion for a solution is one unified hardware and software platform designed for Android. Such a system, she argues, could solve all the problems listed above and still enable businesses to be flexible as time goes on.
Again, many of the points London raises are good ones. Today’s businesses are extremely complex, and a strong mobility strategy can be a great way to streamline processes and make your workforce more productive. We would even agree that it can be complicated to maintain a suite of applications and devices, and that remaining flexible is often a challenge. But, we would argue that it doesn’t have to be.
While a unified hardware and software platform designed on one operating system would certainly ease the pains of implementing a mobility program in the enterprise, in our opinion, that’s an expense and approach that is just not necessary given the other options that exist for approaching the problem.
As London notes, it can be complex to develop and maintain a suite of applications and devices–especially if they’re on different operating systems. But a “one hardware-one software-one operating system” approach as she describes means employees can’t use their own devices, possibly that the company would need to purchase a large amount of new hardware, and again, can be avoided altogether with a solution like App47.
What an enterprise application/mobility management platform like App47 does–without forcing you to roll out all-new hardware under one OS–is give you a streamlined, convenient way to develop and test apps, get user feedback, deploy apps, set permissions, and more. That is, it solves the complexity problem London describes by giving you a hub to manage your suite of mobile applications, regardless of OS or home device. Employees can use the devices they like, access your corporate app store, and use the apps they want when they want, rather than by mandate. In our view, that’s a much more practical solution–and it’s cheaper, to boot.
When evaluating how to modernize your enterprise mobility program, remember that not all solutions are created equal. Solutions like ours, which meet employees where they are and give managers an easy way to track application deployment, security, and usage, are often preferable to other offerings with unneeded complexity and expense.
