How to take the stress out of mobility management

Strategy

As the number of employees requiring remote access grows, so do the available connectivity options and device profiles. IT managers face considerable challenges in simplifying remote access, reducing hidden costs and making it more manageable. A mixture of technical and organizational steps can help to mitigate the problem and offer an optimal experience to mobile employees. IT managers are facing an increasingly difficult challenge as more employees choose to work out of the office. A recent Network World magazine survey revealed that whereas in 2004 one in four workers required remote access, by 2006, 43% are expected to demand it. As employees find more devices and communications systems at their disposal, so does the headache for IT departments. Some years ago, employees working remotely would use dial-up links from a corporate laptop by default. These days, they may use their own PDA, a smart phone, or a public PC in an Internet café, each with a different operating system and access client. The access methods also vary widely: dial-up links, broadband Ethernet connections, WiFi hotspots or even 3G cellular systems. Each offers a different experience, from the snail’s pace of GSM to the always-on speeds of broadband Ethernet. And the entry method may vary too: legacy remote workers may well dial in directly using a remote access server, while a salesperson may only be able to access email via their smartphone’s web browser. The burden is immense on the IT department to ensure that employees using different devices and connections can enjoy the same experience, while minimizing support, security threats and costs.

Define user roles As the number and profile of remote users grow, understanding their disparate needs can become difficult. Categorizing them to reduce complexity is a mandatory step task, says Darin Stahl, lead analyst for Toronto-based analyst company Info-Tech Research. "We see three types of user, and you will need to profile the places that they access from,” said Stahl. “There are home-based teleworkers, global roaming C-level executives, and field staff such as on-site engineers and sales account teams." One type of user might connect via a home broadband link, while another might rely on a public WiFi network. The latter may be using cellular networks, which have their own bandwidth and access limitations.

The disparate device trap Similarly, it is important to categorize and simplify the range of devices that an employee may use to access corporate resources. “So far, mobile devices are frequently introduced into the corporation by individuals," warned Joel Pellegrin, mobility marketing manager at Equant. “Consequently, in many companies today there is an existing mobile device base that isn't managed by the IT department. The more the IT manager waits to define a clear corporate mobility framework, the more the situation gets complex and deviates from the ideal greenfield situation." The answer, said Gary Duke, CEO of network consultancy Lan 2 Lan, is to implement a corporate policy limiting the available devices. “Most companies are not allowing the users to use their own devices because there is a plethora of available options out there,” he argued. “They try to keep the device profiles down to a minimum because otherwise you're into all types of support issues.” Limiting the profile of available devices also makes it easier for IT departments to support them remotely, possibly using remote control facilities to assist with configuration. “It also makes it easier to enable mobile access to a wider range of vertical business applications such as CRM or sales force automation tools if there are less device types to support,” said Pellegrin.

A buffer to remove complexity With the employees and the devices rationalized, the remaining area of complexity is connectivity. Hidden costs can arise when remote employees use connections on an ad hoc basis, warns Info-Tech’s Stahl. If employees are left to find their own connections, then they may find themselves paying access fees for WiFi services many times as they move between locations. Similarly, executives connecting via dial-up could face extortionate long-distance hotel charges. The answer to cost complexity is to sign-up with a global service provider with extensive third-party relationships. This provides the IT department with a unified bill rather than executives submitting receipts for every time they remotely access their corporate environment. It also provides a single method of authorization and authentication and hence, one less headache for the mobile employees and the IT department.