Mobile device trends: Security, consolidation and more

SearchMobileComputing.com writes that a report from Jack Gold at J.Gold Associate "has identified a few key trends that will shape mobile devices, how enterprises use them, and how mobile managers will keep tabs on them over the next two years."

First is security because "enterprises are starting to understand that devices such as PDAs and smartphones can act as vectors to enter the network." According to Gold, "most users and companies maintain a "don't ask, don't tell" attitude when it comes to securing devices. And until now, they've been relatively lucky. But that luck may very well run out by 2008."

He said, "We expect some major security breaches, and especially compliance breaches, to occur in the next 12 months, as devices get relatively large amounts of memory and processing capability, and users deploy unsafe practices in keeping data on their mobile devices -- and even on SD and other flash devices which are almost always totally unprotected."

Gold then wrote "Look for voice recognition to go from just a dialing interface -- 'call the office' -- to a query engine that can retrieve information for users from back office systems – 'where is Jack's order?" In addition to multi-modal interfaces, Gold predicted "location-based services (LBS) will become increasingly prevalent over the next year or two," and will offer "more efficient dispatch, better routing of field people [and] better asset management."

Gold also predicted that "wireless e-mail in the enterprise will decline, he said, and be replaced by more complex applications such as SFA, CRM and Dispatch, Time, and Expense Management." He said, "That's not to say that wireless e-mail won't still be a major enterprise requirement. But many companies [that] have already deployed e-mail are now searching for the next thing, and that next thing will be connections back to office systems."

Lastly, Gold forecast that "consolidation in the wireless and mobile space will increase, with many smaller companies fading or falling to acquisition as the major players make stronger pushes with middleware and other solutions." He warned "companies to be cautious in their selection process."

Gold added, "There will be increasing variety and segmentation in devices, with specific vendor product lines targeting enterprise users, much as happened in the notebook space,. And we expect the smartphone to take most of the enterprise market share currently held by PDAs, except for industrial or special-purpose uses."

Gold concluded that "Companies will need to deal with an array of devices and technologies deployed by users, especially in executive ranks. Standardizing on a platform will help, but will not totally isolate the company from device diversity. Companies will need to continually update their mobile strategy over the next few years to utilize the latest productivity-improving technologies."