Mformation Updates Carrier-Hosted Enterprise Mobile Device Management Product

Many enterprises want their wireless carrier(s) to assist in enabling thebenefits of enterprise mobility, but few operators have delivered in aholistic manner. Mobile device management (MDM) vendor Mformation doesn'tsolve every enterprise mobility need, but they are one of the few vendorsthat sells an MDM solution to carriers that's aimed toward enterprise use.

Mformation introduced its new software release, Enterprise Manager 5.1,which builds upon its existing lifecycle-oriented MDM product. As thevendor describes it, the cycle beings with configuring connectivity,continues with service provisioning, support, security, and ends withmeasurement. These elements transform into five management components:configuration, software, diagnostics, customer experience, and security.
Mformation's Service Manager also provides portal access to each enterprisecustomer, customizable by the carrier for specific device managementfunctions. The ability to upgrade the firmware, for example, could bedisabled. The enterprise customer can further customize controls withintheir organization.
For the enterprise looking for MDM support, a carrier-hosted model providesthe customary benefits of SaaS: low capital costs, immediate usability,operational costs that match growth, smooth scalability, and the domainexpertise of the provider. But because Mformation's customer is first thecarrier, not the enterprise, the latter will have to experience MDM throughthe eyes of the former. Mformation's offering talks of OMA, firmwareupdates, OTA protocols, and the benefits of being able to support risingdata services and applications ARPU, all concepts foreign, or at least oflittle interest, to the enterprise.
Mformation fortunately acknowledges that it's not a one-stop mobility shop:it has partnered with others who can provide anti-virus, encryption, and VPN

access. Ironically Mformation doesn't list any partners for what isacknowledgeably the current killer application: mobile email.
Mformation lists Sprint and T-Mobile in the US, Rogers and Telus in Canada,and many other customers worldwide. Mformation did not share any enterprisecustomer references or the number of enterprise handsets it's productmanages.