ANTenna Blog -- Mobile

These days, equipping your company's employees with smartphones isn't an option, it's practically a requirement. bMighty's friends at Info-Tech Research help you figure out who should get what.

What with new iPhones and inexpensive BlackBerries and all kinds of different uses and requirements, it's hard to figure out which smartphones your company should support.

To help you make sense of the confusion, Info-Tech Research put together a
Research Note laying out the 4 key considerations. Here are their excellent recommendations, and my snarky comments in italics.

1. Choose devices with physical QWERTY keyboards when messaging and text entry are the primary uses of the device. A soft keyboard can’t compare to a hard keyboard for text entry.
Unless it's an iPhone, insist on a full hard keyboard. I love the iPhone, but typing is its least application, especially for us nervous types who tend to slap the keys too hard. Choose another device if writing long emails is part of your planned uses.

2. Choose the mobile messaging platform wisely. In Microsoft Exchange shops, using the integrated e-mail push functionality is free, which may make for a more compelling ROI when compared to other options. However, many will argue that other platforms, such as the Blackberry Enterprise Server (BES) are more mature and reliable.
It's hard to argue with free, but if you rely on mobile email, do everything you can to make sure it's always available.

3. Don’t forget about device management and application deployment. Ensure that a good management platform is in place to centrally manage and administer the mobile fleet. Speak to the application development team to see if there are plans to roll out mobile apps that are mobile OS specific.
That assumes you actually HAVE an application development team. At the very least, though, try to test your key applications on all the devices you're considering. You may find that they work far better on some than others.

4. Give users choice. Not only will the users appreciate the option to select the smart mobile device best suited for them, by allowing users to pay their own mobile bills and expense a pre-determined amount every month, the enterprise can save money and make monthly mobility costs more predictable.
I couldn't agree more. Forcing everyone to use the same device ends up compromising everyone. You can rule out certain devices that you WON'T support, but the goal is to be as inclusive as practical. Believe it or not, unhappy users make for unhappy companies.

That's the gist, but I encourage you to check out all the details here.

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