Microsoft Bets Big on Mobile Mbps

Microsoft debuted the new software today at CTIA Wireless I.T. & Entertainment in San Francisco. Enterprises will be able to use Mobile Device Manager to deploy and manage Windows Mobile-based devices. The company could have released similar software years ago to support enterprise mobile deployments. Why now—or, should I say, next year when Mobile Device Manager releases?

Mobile broadband is the killer application for cell phones and smart phones. Microsoft is betting on fast mobile connectivity, whether Wi-Fi or 3G technologies, to increase enterprise deployment of managed smart phones and to allow end users in emerging markets to jump over desktop PCs right to mobile devices.

Mobiles are at the cusp of yet another dramatic usage transformation, as wireless broadband opens up new usage scenarios. The time is quickly approaching when the wireless-broadband-capable smart phone will be the major computing device used by many productivity workers, such as health care professionals, insurance agents and shipping delivery agents, among others.

It's no coincidence that Mobile Device Manager will release soon after new versions of SQL Server and Windows Server and six to eight months following the release of unified communications products. Microsoft is planning for a future of ubiquitous communication, a transformation in work and home lifestyle no less momentous than that brought by the PC.

As mobility increases, people's roles change; they are more defined by interaction than location. Fifteen to 20 years ago, location more defined personal and professional roles. Terminals or PCs connected to servers tethered the professional role to the workplace. But increased mobile causes roles to change by context. An employee could go from product manager to parent, in a single interaction, without ever leaving the living room.

There is now tremendous overlap between personal and professional roles and commingling of data and time spent working on stuff at home. Managing commingled information is an increasing problem for enterprises as employees rely more on smaller and smarter devices. It's trouble enough when someone loses a laptop, but what about a cell phone configured for corporate network and e-mail access and chock full of work data?

There must reach a threshold where IT organizations choose to provide managed devices to employees, rather than managing personally purchased cell phones or smart phones. Mobile Device Manager, used in conjunction with other Microsoft communications software, will give enterprises tools for better managing how employees use cell phones or smart phones across personal and professional purposes.

Something else: hosted applications. Microsoft and its partners are pushing hard into the hosted applications market. Increased mobility means more valuable information leaving corporate confines. Hosting is one means of keeping more information on corporate servers and providing mobile workers access to it. Mobile broadband opens up the way for more remote access to server-stored information.

Microsoft is right to bet big on enterprise mobile. As the pipes open wider, more cell phones and smart phones will replace laptops, depending on contextual usage. Enterprises will need better tools to better manage these devices.