Smartphones In The Enterprise: Gift Or Curse?

By Brian Albright, Field Technologies magazine

Experts discuss the pros (low cost, minimal training) and the cons (platform instability, IT management) of using consumer-grade smartphones in the enterprise.

Smartphones are becoming an increasingly common feature of mobile enterprise applications, even in line-of-business solutions (like field service, logistics, and delivery) that have traditionally relied on rugged devices. While rugged mobile units frequently have an advantage in terms of durability and total cost of ownership, more and more companies are opting for the lower up-front cost, perceived flexibility, and familiar user interface of consumerstyle phones (and in some cases, tablet computers).

“Companies are no longer required to purchase a single-use device to perform a specific function, as smartphones and tablets now integrate a myriad of applications and solutions for every workplace at a fraction of the cost,” says Philip Hicks, business solutions manager at OtterBox. “Business and personal life are now interconnected, regardless of time or place, and these new devices allow people to stay connected.”

This transition has been accelerated by the increased processing power, memory, and screen resolution available on smartphones, as well as a trend toward bring your-owndevice (BYOD) policies where employees are able to use their personal phones to conduct company business and access the corporate network. For line-of-business apps, there are multiple solutions available that can help ruggedize commercial phones, including rugged cases and enclosures that provide protection against dust, water, and drops.

Smartphones Can Reduce Training Expenses

For some industries, smartphones provide a familiar user interface for employees, which can reduce training expenses. “Many companies have made significant investments in certain field applications, only to struggle with employee adoption and use,” says Timothy Wagner, VP and general manager of enterprise sales at Samsung Mobile. “However, if an organization provides their employees with highly desirable smartphones that are lightweight and easy to use — or even allows them to use their own smartphones at work — they will see a higher adoption rate. This translates to a happier workforce and higher ROI.” Depending on the type (and variety) of platforms involved, smartphones can even provide some support benefits for the IT department. “From the IT administrator’s perspective, smartphone and tablet devices provide easy-to-use tools to push corporate applications to a variety of devices,” says Amy Tupler, senior product manager, BlackBerry Playbook, at Research in Motion. “This provides greater control and security for the IT manager and is more cost-effective. Field staff are still able to manage a ‘personal’ side if the organization supports this as an employee satisfaction and productivity strategy.”

Is Rugged Necessary?

Whether a company might choose a smartphone over a rugged device depends less on the application than the operating environment. Many field service, maintenance, repair, and logistics applications simply require a greater degree of ruggedization because the devices are likely to be destroyed otherwise. Certain industries (like oil and gas) favor rugged devices for the same reason.

But for other companies, the cost savings simply outweighs the risks, given that the applications can run just as well on one device or the other. “I don’t believe there is a field or enterprise function that would not benefit from the deployment of a smartphone or tablet versus a purpose-built or rugged device — if not from a simple reduction in capital expenditures, then for the ability to customize and source applications specific to their business need,” Hicks says. “Many manufacturers and third-party vendors are now working with organizations to tailor devices to meet their unique needs.”

Thinner phones with large screens have made data entry easier, and they allow field employees to share product photos and capture signatures. Using a smartphone can also reduce the number of devices the employee has to carry, since they can access the Internet, make calls, exchange text messages, provide GPS data, and run applications all on the same device. There are also speech-to-text applications that can provide handsfree operation and work exclusively on phones.

In addition to cost savings and ease-of-use, consumerstyle smartphones (and tablets) provide a wider range of hardware options for end users. “With smartphones, a wide variety of form factors and price points make it very easy for the customer to support multiple purchasing models within the organization, as well as select from a robust device portfolio that can attach to even more of their corporate resources,” Wagner says. “When a customer can customize a company’s smartphone by functional need, the customer benefits in terms of ROI, and IT managers benefit by only having to secure one security platform.”

How To Select An Enterprise Smartphone

So, once you’ve made the decision to use a smartphone versus a rugged device, how do you make sure you choose the right one? The available options seem nearly infinite.

The vendors interviewed for this story emphasized traditional selection criteria based on the needs of the application: screen size, keyboard style, processing power, battery life, Wi-Fi options, and training and support resources. Try to find a device that employees will be comfortable with and can adapt to easily.

Security is critical, particularly for applications that may involve payment processing or that access sensitive data in the field. Security has to be balanced with usability, however. “Many field uses require access to and transmission of data that is confidential,” Tupler says. “Look for a device that offers the field user seamless access to corporate documentation. Many devices require several steps to log in to company data, which becomes tedious if access is needed throughout the day.”

Managing and securing devices, particularly smartphones (especially if multiple device types are involved), can be difficult for corporate IT departments. Whatever mobile device management (MDM) or mobile application management (MAM) solution you have in place needs to support the entire spectrum of devices deployed and allow IT to lock down or wipe lost or stolen devices, in addition to providing remote management, provisioning, and software distribution functionality.

If you plan to ruggedize the phones with third-party accessories, evaluate all the available options so that you don’t underprotect or overspend on the wrong level of ruggedization. “Protection ranges from entry-level options which offer minimal protection from scratches and bumps, all the way to truly rugged cases offering high-level drop, shock, audio, and water protection,” Hicks says. “As with smartphones and tablets, there are entry-level, midtier, and premium options available to users with different needs.”

Wireless carriers can also play a role in device selection, because they can leverage deeper discounts in device pricing. Some types of phones are also only available for specific networks. If a company is already tied to a mobile carrier, that relationship can be leveraged to provide discounts on hardware or new types of data plans to support the application. Some carriers are also able to bill on behalf of third-party application providers to streamline purchasing.

Addressing Smartphone Platform Instability

One of the major drawbacks of deploying smartphones for enterprise apps is that there are so many device types, and OS updates are frequent — so frequent that they can present significant problems for IT departments trying to keep their applications up to date with the operating platform. Another important element of device selection is finding a platform that will provide enough stability to future-proof the application without requiring frequent and expensive software or hardware changes.

“With enterprise adoption rapidly increasing and true market potential yet to be identified, we will begin to see major manufacturers key in on devices to alleviate this exact concern,” Hicks says. “To mitigate this risk in the short term, organizations need to practice due diligence in identifying those devices and manufacturers that offer the most stable platform to build a business around.”

“The process of selecting mobile devices is much more complex than it was just a few years ago, due to the overall complexity of the mobile device industry,” Wagner says. Choose devices that have been designed with enterprise operation in mind, from providers that offer the level of back office support the business requires.