Officially joining the ranks of the most elite pigskin teams in the country -- also known as the NFL -- in 2002 as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) South Division, last year the Houston Texans were in search of a mobile device management platform that would allow players to study new plays via an array of different smartphones.

Initially assigning out BlackBerrys to staff who could then leverage the BlackBerry (News - Alert) Enterprise Server (BES) to manage and secure these devices, it quickly became apparent to the IT team in 2011 that countless benefits could be seen by allowing players to use any phone or tablet of their choice to access their growing playbook.  

By implementing this extremely robust and intuitive Mobile Device Management (MDM) platform, players can also watch video on their tablet devices anytime and anywhere while IT has full control over these devices to help provide an ultra high level of security.

After looking at multiple vendors in the space, the prestigious team decided to begin to utilize MobileIron’s offering as it was recommended by its partner, CDW (News - Alert).

When the MobileIron platform was selected, CDW then got in touch with Mission Critical Wireless (MCW), the only provider at this time that can complete installs on behalf of MobileIron for CDW clients. Working closely with the Houston Texans to ensure they completely comprehended the mobile device management strategy. According to an IT team employee, “The Mobility Solutions Engineer that MCW provided took time to explain the installation and best practices no matter how long it took. Overall, she was very patient and a pleasure to work with.”

Now armed with the solution needed to optimize smartphone and tablet functions in a highly secure network, employees applaud MobileIron for allowing them to select the smartphone of their choice whether it be an Android device or an iPhone (News - Alert). Some of the advantages the team saw right away after beginning to use this MDM solution include seeing multiple users significantly increase how often they used their device by nearly double, and by increasing the amount of time they spent studying the vital playbook content.

Company officials concluded, “I would recommend MCW and MobileIron for any NFL team looking to integrate a MDM platform.”