Mobile maturity in the enterprise has finally arrived, and plenty of IT solution providers have recognized that offering a mobile services practice – integrating mobile devices to the IT infrastructure — can bring in an additional stream of services revenue. Channel Insider takes a look at some of the vendors who are shaping the mobile enterprise landscape and who may be the best potential partners for delivering enterprise mobile solutions that pack a punch.
Sybase
Sybase’s go-to-market reliance on ISVs, resellers and systems integrators make it a great potential partner for resellers looking to deploy mobile enterprise applications. Sybase’s mobile platform combines all the required “parts” for a successful mobile deployment, so time-to-market is fast and roadblocks presented by building custom and piecemeal solutions avoided. From device management to a great application development environment, Sybase most likely has what you need. Plus, the company’s partner program is stellar and gives reseller partners tons of tools, benefits and aid with selling and deploying Sybase.
RIM
RIM offers partners some great dev tools for deploying applications that run on RIM—and, remember: RIM alone. The company’s proprietary OS is popular in the enterprise (and that’s putting it lightly), but keep in mind the effects of the consumerization of IT – multi-device support is a must. Resellers looking to play successfully in the mobile enterprise app game need to support the RIM platform, especially in certain vertical industries such as real estate and financial services. Also, RIM is popular with executives and white-collar mobile workers such as sales people. If you’re eyeing mobile solutions for SFA or Field Service, make sure you have a BlackBerry strategy.
Google
Google won’t give an inch when pressed to tell its mobile enterprise strategy, consistently asserting that right now, it are focused on the consumer market for Android. But, Google has made a push with its Google Apps partner program to infiltrate business. So don’t be fooled – Android will play big in the enterprise, especially as Google Apps continues to gain traction within large companies. Steve Jobs recently said that Google’s “Don’t Be Evil Mantra” (quietly dropped from marketing last year) was untrue and that Google was bent on destroying the iPhone. But, perhaps Google hopes the iPhone will be a casualty in its bigger war for enterprise world domination. Android is an essential weapon to snagging a victory. Resellers need to watch Android’s enterprise progress closely and partner directly with Google or with ISVs that support the Android platform so they can offer it in their own arsenal.