By Dick Stark

In case you missed it, Friday was the official release date of Apple’s new iPhone 5.  Apple has sold 244 million iPhones since 2006 and figures on selling 10 million new iPhones over the next several days. Many retailers sold out in just a couple of hours.  It is no wonder that so many iPhone fans started lining up at 5 PM last Thursday night.

Mobile Device Madness?  Definitely. Fortunately, RightStar along with BMC and AirWatch have a solution to this madness: BMC Mobile Device Management or MDM.

MDM, or enterprise MDM is defined as a configuration management tool for mobile handheld devices, such as smartphones and tablets based on smartphone OSs. MDM supports security, network services, and software and hardware management across multiple OS platforms. It can support a Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) environment, corporate owned, or a heterogeneous environment. BMC teamed up with AirWatch, an MDM vendor based in Atlanta to offer BMC MDM, a SaaS based solution.  BMC chose AirWatch based upon its market leadership, Gartner Magic Quadrant positioning, and integration with ITSM and ITAM solutions.

BMC MDM offers complete mobility management from deployment to configuration to security to application/content management to support to retirement.  Security is a big driver and value-add for BMC MDM. For example, I have a friend that works at IBM.  There they have a policy that disables Siri for all iPhone users.  (Siri is Apple’s personal assistant.) Apparently all Siri voice requests go through a single server which could be a security hole should that sever be compromised. At any rate, MDM software allows IBM to support iPhones and still maintain high levels of corporate security.

Another interesting capability is the MDM Secure Content Locker. This provides document management from mobile devices, automating distribution based upon user role, device ownership and location.  Two interesting case studies include:

• The NFL. BMC explained that NFL tracks and manages their playbooks using the Secure Content Locker. This capability allows NFL players to access their playbooks through their mobile devices using multi-factor authentication.  The only downside is that when players no longer have access to their playbooks, a visit very shortly from the coach is likely.
• United Airlines. United has recently replaced its flight charts with iPads. Previously pilots flew with 45-pound flight bags.  An iPad not only offers quicker access to more up-to-date information but also offers a significant space and weight savings.  (United estimates that this savings amounts to 16 million sheets of paper per year or 326,000 gallons of fuel.) BMC MDM provides United a Secure Content Locker to guarantee that the air chart data will remain secure.

BMC MDM offers a relief from this madness with increased compliancy, security and a very rapid ROI. I’m finally ready to trade up my old BlackBerry.  I just hope I don’t have to wait too long in line.