Disclaimer: All videos presented in the “YouTube IT Video of the Week” series are subjectively selected by ITKnowledgeExchange.com community managers and staff for entertainment purposes only. They are not sponsored or influenced by outside sources.

The rise of Mobile – An infographic by the team at Trinity Digital Marketing

Disclaimer: All videos presented in the “YouTube IT Video of the Week” series are subjectively selected by ITKnowledgeExchange.com community managers and staff for entertainment purposes only. They are not sponsored or influenced by outside sources.

Sacco’s article closes on what is supposed to be a positive note:

“Nothing has changed” for RIM and BlackBerry, [Kirkup] says.

The company still has a very solid foundation, Kirkup says, built on more than a decade of mobile-device-specific work in the technology industry. RIM is still the security de facto for many governments and other security-conscious organizations. It still has many, many loyal users. And RIM is currently producing and shipping the best products it’s ever offered, according to Kirkup.

For RIM, “Nothing has changed.” Unfortunately, the rest of the world has. IT no longer calls the shots on technology the way it once did. As HP will sadly tell you, a slick, next generation OS doesn’t necessarily cut it, and RIM’s updates haven’t received the critical plaudits that WebOS has.

Back in 2008, I wrote an article with the cringe-worthy headline “Six simple steps to killing the iPhone” (Scroll down to get past the fake reg wall). Looking back, I don’t think the 6 bullet points were seriously flawed (nor were they brilliant insights), but so far, while phone manufacturers have followed a few to near perfect (Clone the iPhone, Take a deep breath) and scored middling on others (start including good browsers, opening the store front), they have completely blown it on what could be the most important point: Start treating your users like the customers and not the carriers.

The truly disruptive thing about the iPhone was that it was and continues to be a device built for users, with very little regard to what the carriers want (and traditionally demand). If the iOS is a closed ecosystem (and it is), it is much more closed to the whims of AT&T and Verizon than it is to the users. Even the open Android OS can’t claim this: My Droid 2 came with a Need for Speed 2 demo, Blockbuster’s subscription service and Motorola’s terrible UI implementations not only pre-installed but also impossible to remove.

Today, RIM still relies on and boasts about its tight carrier and IT relationships: It’s push e-mail service, in fact, doesn’t work without its centralized push e-mail service, which ultimately leads to its flagship tablet launching without an independent e-mail client. RIM’s push infrastructure served the company very well over the years, but Apple, Microsoft and Google have all shown you can have great e-mail without an extra centralized point of failure and without an extra “BlackBerry” tax on already pricey phone plans.

They’ve also shown that IT is grudgingly willing to support users in ways that would have been unthinkable a few years ago: While Apple and Google have slowly been making progress on IT demands, a lot of creativity and dialogue has allowed users to bring in new ways of working and devices to work on without the end-of-the-world scenarios more curmudgeonly techies have warned about.

Unfortunately, RIM still doesn’t seem to get this: They see their years of legacy technology, partnerships and experience as their primary assets. All that’s needed, in their minds, is a thin veneer of new paint, an OS re-fresh, but the reality is the fundamental orientation of computing is moving towards being more humane, usable and useful. While I have no doubt that RIM’s latest line of products is a marked improvement, I have seen no indication that the company understands this shift.

Michael Morisy is the editorial director for ITKnowledgeExchange. He can be followed on Twitter or you can reach him at Michael@ITKnowledgeExchange.com.

Well, less than a month later Mozilla, while widely praised for its bold move in the press, showed signs of contrition: It re-established the Mozilla Enterprise User Working Group, a private forum to gauge concerns and address the needs of IT professionals and departments, while acknowledging the very real needs to test and lock down work environments.

There was a similar about-face from Apple recently when the company introduced its Volume Purchasing Program, which allowed IT managers (or any corporate honchos) to centrally manage and distribute application redemption codes while getting bulk-purchase and customer-order discounts. The inability to bulk-order custom or even off-the-shelf apps was long a sore point for IT administrators, even as they were unable to stem the tide of incoming iDevices.

But looking over the history of these two organizations, and particularly their relationship with business and IT customers, even these steps make clear one over-riding point: The priority is still the end user. As Mozilla’s head of developer engagement Stormy Peters put it, “Mozilla is fundamentally about people and we care about our users wherever they are.”

There has been a shift over the past several years to move from an IT-centric view of a company’s technology (speeds and feeds) of the world to focusing on how the technology can align – regardless of the specs or underlying infrastructure – with making the business run better. The overriding focus of Apple and Firefox can be, as these changes have shown, complimentary to this approach, but it’s yet one more juggling act of mismatched priorities the new role of IT manager is forced to juggle.

How well do you see the user and business stars aligning? Did Firefox go far enough by restarting its Working Group? Do businesses need to draw a harder line when it comes to the enterprise support they expect or demand? Let me know in the comments or at Michael at ITKnowledgeExchange dot com.

Michael Morisy is the editorial director for ITKnowledgeExchange. He can be followed on Twitter or you can reach him at Michael@ITKnowledgeExchange.com.

I was vindicated yesterday when Daniel Amitay, an Apple iPhone developer, published his research into passcode security. Amitay pays homage to past articles about the most common passwords on the Internet, creating a list of the ten most common iPhone passcodes. Here they are, in all their glory, from Amitay’s blog:

Chart from Daniel Amitay's blog.

The data used in the research comes from 204,000 passcodes used by anonymous users to secure the Big Brother Camera Security application developed by Amitay, who presumes that most users don’t go to the lengths of coming up with and memorizing a different passcode than used for their iPhone. Translated loosely, this means about 15% of employees at your company are most likely using light passwords. How can you battle bad habits from seeping into the enterprise security?

Ken Harthun at the Security Corner blog outlines the way the password paradigm is shifting, offering realistic ways to update your passwords without being bogged down by complexities. Security can’t just be a concern for the security professional; whether you’re dealing with the CTO or the summer intern, offering manageable ways to deal with password security in the enterprise can only make your job easier.

Whether you have a smartphone, a tablet, an ATM card, or a laptop, if you’re currently using one of those four digit magic numbers in that chart up there, coming up with a better password should be on your to-do list. Sophos blogger Graham Clulely suggests taking advantage of the passphrase option in your phone’s security settings. Cluley closes on this final thought: “What’s the 4 digit PIN you use at the bank’s ATM cash machine?” For a brief period of time, I was using the same pin numbers for my phone and my debit card (I know, I know). I have since changed it, especially after reading about security breaches day after day. Besides, when I realized that my seven-year-old niece had memorized my passcode to get into my phone and play games, I knew it was time.

Melanie Yarbrough is the assistant community editor at ITKnowledgeExchange.com. Follow her on Twitter or send her an email at Melanie@ITKnowledgeExchange.com.

I even wrote a gem called Six simple steps to killing the iPhone (ignore reg link and keep scrolling down), advice that’s not too embarrassing until the last one:

Step 6: Take a deep breath

Others disagree, but both Hughes and Gold say the iPhone hysteria is no different in principle from other phone crazes before it — the Sidekick or the Motorola RAZR, which was at one point ranked #12 in the greatest gadgets of the past 50 years but is now regarded as a mid-tier feature phone at best.

…

“Somebody needs to come up with something that’s really innovative, and then you’ll see loyalties switch in a second,” Gold said. “I think it’s probably going to be folks in the Far East: LG or Samsung, or maybe a Chinese company we don’t even know about yet.”

The point is, at the time, iPhones were just a flash in the pan. They’ve now thoroughly invaded the enterprise; early IT resistance has softened, to the point that it’s hard to find an IT vendor who doesn’t offer some sort of server management tools for the iPhone (I’ll give Gold some points for his “company we don’t even know about yet,” as Taiwan’s HTC has come from underground white labeled device maker to very public contender).

That’s the background I come from when I read Preston Gralla’s predictions that Apple’s enterprise growth isn’t sustainable, and why I think he looks at the right data, but draws all the wrong conclusions:

• Apple started small. Gralla points out that, while a 68% jump in enterprise sales is impressive sounding, it’s only a drop in the bucket when you’re starting at 3% of market share. “It’s easy to post eye-popping percent gains when you start with very low sales figures, which the Mac has,” he writes. “But as your sales grow, it becomes increasingly difficult to post large percentage gains.” But since Apple is still small, continued market share growth seems plausible for the next few years. Just using the numbers quoted in Gralla’s article and extending them out at their current growth rates (which were quarterly, not yearly), I came up with the following:
  
  This chart should absolutely not be used as a prediction of growth, but we’re talking about the benchmarks of whether Apple’s current enterprise growth is sustainable. I think the answer will turn out to be a definite “yes,” at least until 2014 when, if the trends roughly continue, Apple will have about 12% of the enterprise market. Traveling around, I see more and more groups of workers going Mac, and while 12% from their current 3% is a huge gain, I think it’s definitely in the ballpark of achievable based on a number of other factors.
• Virtualization and cloud computing. “In a cloud-based world, your hardware platform loses importance, because apps are run from the cloud,” Gralla correctly notes. “Why pay a Mac tax for a higher-priced computer in a cloud-based future, when a less expensive piece of equipment will do the same job?” Two points: The Mac Tax isn’t new, is often overstated, and obviously hasn’t been hampering adoption lately. Second, virtualization and cloud computing make it much, much easier to add in a Mac to the corporate lineup, while giving IT the control it needs and users the apps they need. Virtualization and cloud computing have also made IT more comfortable with supporting user-purchased devices, which I think will be the real driver of Mac adoption: Users bringing in their own, or buying them with an IT “budget” they can allocate.
• Tablets. Preston asks, “Why spend several thousands of dollars for a Mac when you can get similar work done with a $500 tablet?” There’s no reason to, but that’s also a bit like asking why spend hundreds of thousands on a firetruck when you can buy a pair of shoes. Only Apple’s highest end gear is more than $2,000 (2/3 of Mac Pros are less than that!), with MacBooks starting at just under $1,000, with better pricing for bulk purchases. I do think tablets will impact this market, but they’re much less a threat to Macs, which are coming in to replace power users’ computers, than they are to PCs, particularly in niche applications where mobility is key, like medical, warehouse, sales, etc. These sales weren’t going to Macs to begin with, but they will actually help drive Apple’s increased marketshare as fewer PCs are needed in these areas.

In 2007, after the iPhone came out, the conventional wisdom was that Motorola, BlackBerry and Windows phones had very little to worry about from Apple, particularly in buttoned-down corporate environments. It took a platform that didn’t even exist at that point, Android, to provide a credible market alternative. History has shown it’s a dangerous game to bet against Apple in favor of the status quo.

Michael Morisy is the editorial director for ITKnowledgeExchange. He can be followed on Twitter or you can reach him at Michael@ITKnowledgeExchange.com.

One thing John brought up was the mobile vs. desktop virtualization debate. His stance was that, far from detracting from desktop virtualization, mobile devices and tablets actually helped start the conversation in getting companies to seriously look into a broader desktop virtualization strategy.

“A lot of times people want to use their iPhone and hook it up with their corporate e-mail, or use an iPad at work,” he said.  ”That starts the conversation about what are we going to do about people wanting to bring their devices in, and how are we going to manage them.”

Whaley also said that that desktop would still dominate for the foreseeable future, even in more tablet-friendly businesses. “It’s not ‘We’re going to give iPads only,’” he said “It’s, in every case, an iPad is in addition to a laptop. It’s good for consuming but it’s not as good for creating content.”

[kml_flashembed movie="http://www.youtube.com/v/ScUKZoDwJzw" width="425" height="350" wmode="transparent" /]

Michael Morisy is the editorial director for ITKnowledgeExchange. He can be followed on Twitter or you can reach him at Michael@ITKnowledgeExchange.com.

From possibly causing cancer to posing a major security risk to the enterprise, the smartphone just can’t cut a break. The truth is, smartphones are here to stay, especially in the enterprise. Like many other IT versus the world conflicts, the solution isn’t a yes or no policy to their usage, but a set of security policies and guidelines just like with any other technology adapted by the enterprise. Smartphone security and encryption can be a tricky road to navigate, so take a few things under consideration before deciding.

Assessing the Situation

Like any other policy, there are several factors that go into the crafting of mobile security. Here are a few points to consider when discussing options amongst your team:

• Rather than looking for the cheapest (or the free-est) application available, assess your company’s mobile encryption needs before beginning the search. Minimizing time wasted will minimize the frustration and loss when incorporating mobile phone security into corporate policy. If you need support for multiple smartphone operating systems, start your search with that detail.
• Part of your assessment should include your enterprise’s primary security focus and needs. Whether you need the option of remote data-wiping or authentication, knowing these details ahead of time will help to increase efficiency.
• Once you’ve decided the features your users and data need, you need to allocate some of your security budget to ensuring the data on and accessed by these smartphones is secure.
• Just like endpoint security has lowered the risk of laptops remotely accessing networks, smartphone encryption software can help you adapt to the changing nature of the enterprise. To better ensure the smooth incorporation of these devices into your operations, you’ll need to incorporate them into the in-place central management system. Treat mobile devices as normal factors in everyday operations (rather than a device sent solely to cause your headaches) and implement its use and security like any other enterprise-level product.

Some smartphone encryption options after the jump.

Understanding Your Options

Here are just a few options for smartphone security and encryption:

• Built-in smartphone encryption: This out-of-the-box encryption is rare and often lacking certain necessary features. The iPhone offers remote wipe capabilities in the case of loss or theft; though there’s not much else available for the platform. Apple’s insistence that the iPhone is enterprise-ready is continuously met with skepticism. The PalmOS has applications available, though it does not offer built-in encryption.
• Blackberry lovers: For those addicted to their Blackberry, they offer Blackberry Enterprise Server (BES), which includes local data file security, central management, and AES encryption on authentication passwords.
• Windows Mobile: AES 128-bit encryption for emails, tasks, calendar and a My Documents folder, with the option to enable this security on SD cards, which will then be unreadable on all other mobile phones.
• One Size Fits All: Smartphone Protection from GuardianEdge Technologies Inc. provides encryption and central security management for iPhones, Windows Mobile and Palm.

One of the most important parts of any policy is allowing for more efficient working conditions without compromising security. By exploring your options, you’ll be able to embrace the inevitable adoption of newer technologies while minimizing the anxiety of new threats and vulnerabilities.

Melanie Yarbrough is the assistant community editor at ITKnowledgeExchange.com. Follow her on Twitter or send her an email at Melanie@ITKnowledgeExchange.com.

Bloomberg Businessweek drove that point home on Tuesday, profiling major firms like SAP and Mercedes-Benz that were, sometimes tentatively, beginning to deploy the iPad out on their front lines:

[Rob Enslin, North America president at SAP] says that when he travels, the only device he carries besides a Research In Motion (RIMM) BlackBerry is the iPad. “It’s allowed me to almost run a paperless office,” says Enslin, who uses it to access business applications, briefing documents, customer information, and other data.

SAP, based in Walldorf, Germany, also works with clients to put its products on mobile devices including the iPad. Tellabs, for instance, collaborated with SAP and Sybase on an iPad application that lets managers more quickly approve shipping of customer orders. “We also have three or four different applications lined up behind this that will help us with better inventory control,” says Jean Holley, chief information officer at Tellabs, based in Naperville, Ill.

It’s not surprising given the iPhone’s success with everyone from executives to delivery drivers, and while some still question the iPhone’s enterprise readiness, the activity in our very own forums indicates many companies are still forging straight ahead.

Michael Morisy is the community editor for ITKnowledgeExchange. He can be followed on Twitter or you can reach him at Michael@ITKnowledgeExchange.com.