In recent years, enterprise deployments of mobile devices are greatly expanding personal communications and computing platforms for business. However, with the increased use of these multi-OS devices comes many unforeseen challenges associated with cost, risk, and usability that traditional computing management strategies are ill-equipped to handle. Employee-owned Multi-OS devices need to connect to the enterprise, and company and personal data have the potential to get entangled. Boundaries must be put in place in order to ensure corporate data, security and privacy rules stay in place. A new category of Enterprise software now exists to solve these problems called Mobile Device Management (MDM) Software.

MobileIron, is a company created specifically to ease the overwhelming use of both corporate and employee- owned multi-OS smart devices in the enterprise. The firm offers an approach for mobile device management (MD) that helps every department including IT, finance, and end-users by moving smartphone device data directly to the enterprise cloud.

The MobileIron Virtual Smartphone Platform is the first solution integrating data-driven mobile device management with real-time wireless cost control. This solution is secure and simple for both IT and end users to view exactly what data reside on a smart device. MDM also details real-time usage information to help both IT and users secure data and control costs without any effects to privacy-related issues. The Virtual Smartphone Platform quickly installs and integrates into a corporate network including leverage of Active Directory and Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP).

Advanced Mobile Device Management offers Enterprises the ability to address multiple staff policy challenges associated with mobile enterprises such as more than one platforms including iOS and Android (News - Alert), high mobile support costs, mobile security issues such as creating a mobile applications storefront strategy, exorbitant data plans and international roaming bills as well as unsecured employee-owned phones and tablets.

Mobile expenses often reach extremely high rates as the number of end users using smart device applications continues to increase. In order to control data plan and roaming costs user accountability and real-time visibility are essential. MobileIron’s MDM solution addresses mobility costs in real-time based on thresholds set by IT and the mobile user.

With no industry standard for mobile operating systems, traditional one platform strategies are unable to handle the demands that Multi-OS mobile devices require. As more users continue to download iOS, Andriod, Blackberry and other mobile apps, companies must maintain the ability to have these apps approved prior to download in order to keep ‘bad’ apps out of reach of potential users.

Research firm Gartner (News - Alert) noted in the Mobile Device Management Software Magic Quadrant that, “Enterprises with mobile applications and data deployments, planned or implemented, enterprises that are struggling with device and OS proliferation and enterprises that are attempting to provide access to applications and data on employee-owned devices should consider MobileIron.”