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Page 1 of 2 By Info-Tech Research Group
IT leaders can ill-afford to let business unit mobility needs create havoc in their support organization. This problem occurs because IT staff must deal with a variety of service providers, an assortment of mobile devices, and business units that access a variety of wireless-enabled applications. Therefore, implementing those mobility support services that provide acceptable support to business units is critical. IT leaders should address the following questions to identify those support services essential to business unit clients.
Support Goals and Objectives
Generally, IT support goals and objectives are budget and resource driven. Consequently, IT leaders must understand business unit mobility needs and apply available resources to address them. Most IT organizations begin by focusing on the most critical support services, such as a 24x7 help desk. The objective of many IT leaders is to upgrade their support services over time as their resources increase and their staff gains mobility support experience. Take the following actions to get the process underway:
- Identify critical gaps that require additional staff and/or funding. Once gaps are identified, prioritize them. Technical support issues are common because IT staff cannot easily diagnose cellular problems and performance related issues without direct assistance from wireless providers. Focus on the identified support gaps and address those that are deemed most critical first.
- Evaluate current support services that can be leveraged to support mobility. The key is to maximize existing resources. Some current support areas, such as help desk and trouble ticket systems could be adapted or upgraded to support mobility support requirements. Review existing support tools and systems carefully to ensure potential add-on capabilities are identified and considered.
- Consider budget needs versus budget capabilities. The reality is that it costs additional money to support business unit mobility requirements. As a result, IT leaders must identify the support costs involved for IT to support cellular service and the required devices. Otherwise, senior management may not understand the total support costs involved when budget time comes around.
Next Year’s Mobility Support Requirements
Enterprise mobility support needs continue to morph as new services and devices appear. However, IT leaders should forecast their support requirements for at least one year or more to get the appropriate budget and resources in-place. Although, initial wireless deployments could utilize a single cellular provider and a limited number of wireless devices, IT groups must be prepared for eventual deployment of other devices such as PDAs, smartphones, etc. IT leaders must work with business unit counterparts to determine if multiple cellular providers are needed along with the types of devices business users will require to access them. IT should focus on the following areas to identify and plan for the future support services they may need to provide:
Mobility growth projection.
Although the future is unpredictable, IT groups should work with business units to determine the cellular services/providers that may be required, like user growth projections; and the types of mobile devices that require support. Many enterprises anticipate a large increase in cellular data service usage from their mobile users and the requisite support services must not be overlooked. It takes time for IT to get the appropriate support systems and services in place and identifying business unit mobility growth requirements early-on is vital.
Mobile device selection.
As the types and numbers of devices increase, so do the support requirements. IT should make an effort to test and certify mobile devices before they are purchased by business unit users. This process prevents avoidable device support costs and problems - such as configuration and operation issues. IT leaders should discuss this situation with business unit executives to ensure they understand the downside if their employees can purchase whatever device suits them without consulting with IT. Many IT groups proactively provide business units with a list of approved devices to select from.
Mobile device management support.
Asmobility becomes more strategic, enterprises will consider purchasing wireless services and devices from a single service provider or vendor. This could help minimize technology mismatches and decrease the need for IT to manage multiple service providers. This is especially true when one of the mobile device management objectives is to minimize the number of devices and cellular services. Initially, mobility device support objectives should focus on the following areas:
- The ability to configure mobile device hardware and software from a central location – including device deactivation.
- Asset tracking and inventory management.
- Problem reporting/tracking services that minimize business user downtime because of a device or network failure.
IT leaders should also consider the benefits of mobile device management products such as AirWatch mobile device management software, Sybase's Afaria and Wavelink Avalanche. These scalable platforms address many IT support needs and allow enterprise employees to use a variety of devices and cellular services. These products typically support a variety of systems and devices – such as Symbian, Blackberry, Windows Mobile, Palm, and Windows XP, etc.
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