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ADVISOR TIPS
Overcome Management and Support Hurdles for Mobile Deployments
As the number of mobile workers grows, administrators struggle to support them and their devices. Follow these guidelines to keep pace with these on-the-go users.
By Bob Vieraitis, Vice President of Marketing AirPrism, Inc.
As mobile and wireless devices begin to play more of a role in critical business processes, it becomes more important to support them as you would other enterprise systems. The fact that users are distributed and disconnected complicates matters.
Wireless device users don't always connect from the same location, and these connections are intermittent and unpredictable. Roaming, moving from cell to cell, or between access points causes regular disruptions in the data signal. And, many networks and applications don't support host-centric "push" communication, even when the users are connected. In such cases, IT might not have physical control over, or access to, the mobile devices.
This results in a radically different support profile. IT has to manage, control, and support remote devices, ensuring remote users get required software updates in a timely fashion. IT also has to be able to detect hardware and software problems, diagnose errors, and resolve them without requiring the user to return the device.
Management
Lack of a solid management plan and tools to manage mobile and wireless devices result in higher total cost of ownership and decreases the likelihood of meeting return-on-investment goals. After you deploy and secure the devices, their ongoing maintenance will raise issues such as:
- How will you track diverse hardware and software assets?
- How will you deliver critical software updates to remote users?
- How will you monitor device status and location?
- How will you track application, data, and network usage?
A management solution for wireless and mobile devices must incorporate the following features:
Asset inventory -- You must be able to track all mobile assets, including detailed information about the devices' relationships with users, service accounts, and other components.
Configuration -- Configuration capabilities automatically configure each device based on user, hardware, software, and network requirements. You should be able to define configurations for each individual device, for all devices under management, or for any size group. After they're defined, the configurations are automatically delivered to the device. After the devices are loaded, you should have a process set up for automatically testing the device to ensure it has been correctly deployed.
Software distribution -- You must be able to centrally manage the distribution and installation of new applications, software updates, and data files to mobile devices via cradle, wireless LAN, and wireless WAN connections.
Content distribution -- Content distribution capabilities let you publish and deliver documents to mobile users over various connections. It's important to consider issues such as document formatting and bandwidth usage.
Software license tracking -- IT must be able to track the number of applications being used by mobile users and how they're being used.
Monitoring -- Some companies want to be able to view the latest status and location of mobile devices and users. It's also helpful to be able to view errors or alarms, such as those indicating low battery conditions.
Support
As devices carry more of users' day-to-day computing burden, downtime becomes more than an inconvenience. Users can find themselves out of touch, or worse, unable to work altogether. Before you deploy mobile and wireless devices, you must answer the following questions:
- How will you remotely support thousands of distributed and mobile users?
- How will you detect, diagnose, and fix problems?
- How will you restore data and applications if a device is lost or stolen?
To provide support capabilities for a distributed user base, a management solution should provide visibility into the current state of every device in the field, tracking detailed information about each device -- from high-level status to individual settings and parameters. An effective solution must let you and your staff proactively monitor and support users, and includes these features:
Diagnosis and healing -- Automated self-diagnosis and self-healing are important. The solution should let you test all configurations and identify errors on the network, device, wireless modem, and software. With this information, it can identify specific problems, categorize them, and send error messages to the central server. Automated error detection and self-healing improve application uptime while reducing Help calls and support costs.
Backup and recovery -- Automatic backup of critical mobile device data to a central server lets you restore the latest backup to a new device in the event a device is lost or stolen.
User self-help -- In some situations, it's appropriate for users to perform management tasks without the assistance of support staff. In situations where the IT staff isn't available or the user prefers self-help, the user can proactively identify and repair problems.
Troubleshooting -- Automated diagnosis and healing may not be effective in all cases. Troubleshooting tools can help you remotely recognize and solve technical problems.
This tip is an excerpt from Bob Vieraitis' article "5 Hurdles to Mobile and Wireless Deployments..." in Mobile Business Advisor magazine. Pro-level subscribers can read the article online at http://Advisor.com/doc/12812.
ARTICLE INFO
Web Edition: 2003.11.10, Doc #13282
Keyword Tags: Administration, Backup, Business Software, Business Technology, Communications, Computer Hardware, Handheld, Hardware, IT Architecture, IT Strategy, Mobile, Mobile Development, Networking, PDA - Personal Digital Assistant, Pocket PC, Remote Access, Remote Management, Security, System Management, Tech Admin, Tech Exec, Technology, Technology Management, Tech: Hardware, Tech: Management, Tech: Networking, Telecommunications, Wi-Fi, Wireless, Wireless Development
ADVISORAMA All that glitters is not gold. |
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