ChannelTrends: Are Solution Providers Ready for Mobility?

The week is full of mobility news, from the latest iPhone launch date to the upcoming rollout of Amazon’s new tablet. But why is there so much fascination for solution providers and channel vendors? On the surface, the biggest opportunities seem to be in the sale of the consumer products, getting the latest devices and cool apps in the hands of millions of adoring fans.


This basically breaks down into two camps, the Apple enthusiasts and the fans of everything else. That’s not a slam on the company or its competitors, but an acknowledgment of the split market (which was affected to a degree by the mobile carrier alliances they created years ago). Each has its followers and continues to expand functionality to make them more useful for the business community. But have the vendors left room for solution providers in this thriving area of technology?

Channel Apps

While mobile application development may not be a competency of every solution provider, the field is ripe for those with skilled professionals on their staff. The market for these solutions is estimated to be between $15 billion and $18 billion this year, according to an article this week in Channel Insider. For those who are already doing custom development for their clients, mobile solutions can be a natural (and lucrative) transition.


The value of these services is multi-faceted. Revenue from applications that address a significant need for specific markets can be substantial, and leveraging these programs to sell more of a solution provider’s portfolio makes the effort even more worthwhile. Offering a mobile application that can increase a prospective law offices billing hours could be a key differentiator in a managed services contract. That “special sauce” could secure the sale, offering a benefit that they competition doesn’t have.


Integrators already are succeeding with this approach, designing programs that allow their clients to access their internal or proprietary systems from a variety of mobile devices. How appreciative would your legal clients be if you could offer them a tablet application that allows them to securely access their case or practice management system? Or gives the engineers from a manufacturing plant the ability to update their project management program? These solutions provide value that helps tie you closer to clients, and secure new ones. Even if the apps don’t generate seat license sales, the ability to create and provide them to meet specific customer needs can be a key point of differentiation for your business.


Lock Down Security

Mobile technologies provide great flexibility to businesses, allowing remote or travelling employees to work seamlessly from wherever they are. But many small companies make one big mistake when it comes to these devices: they don’t adequately secure their networks and systems to prevent intrusions and data loss. To hackers, mobile devices present a ripe opportunity, creating an unsecured back door to business infrastructure.


Users generally treat tablets and smart phones in a much different manner than their laptop and desktop computers, and may not be protecting them properly. Security on these devices may be woefully inadequate, and viruses or spyware that get into the systems can easily be passed up to their business network if they are given free access.


Regardless of the operating system, if an employee loses one of these devices with direct access to their company’s network, it presents a significant risk to the organization’s systems. A PC World article earlier this year illustrated how simple it is for a hacker to obtain passwords from an iPhone—in as little as six minutes! Android and other operating systems aren’t immune from these security risks either.


If these devices are brought into the workplace, layers of protection must be in place to isolate potential threats. Most small businesses don’t have qualified professionals who can implement this type of security, which presents a great opportunity for solution providers with this capability.


Tie Mobile and Unified Communications

Consider the benefits of seamless communication for your business customers. How many times have you had to dial back into a conference call or to continue a conversation with a crucial client, just because you had to leave for an appointment? The fear of dropping the call between your office and car can be distracting, but when your phone is part of a unified communication system with mobile integration, location is not an issue.


Technology advances allow solution providers to offer their clients a single phone (and phone number) replacing both their office and mobile devices—and functional virtually anywhere. By connecting telephony, presence and mobile applications, it allows for a robust and highly portable office unified communication system. Users can initiate a call while eating breakfast at home, continue in the car (with hands-free, of course) and, after arriving at the office, connect seamlessly to their business systems using a desktop cradle/charger.


The concept isn’t new. ScanSource CTO Greg Dixon demonstrated this type of system in an amusing “day in the life” video at one of their conferences several years ago. Not only did the presentation show the cool factor of the technology that solution providers could add to their portfolio, but it reinforced the fact that those systems could be implemented at that point in time! With the enhancements that have taken place over the past five or six years, the solution opportunities today are much more robust and likely easier to put into operation.


Mobility is a great leveraging point for solution providers, helping them demonstrate the endless opportunities for a unified communications infrastructure. Interested in the channel opportunities with these new technologies around telephony and communications systems? Start by checking out the CompTIA Unified Communications Community. This group of dedicated industry experts is focused on assembling best practices, business education and related resources around these rapidly-developing technologies. Members are free to join the UC Community or just enjoy the fruits of its labor.


Brian Sherman is founder of Tech Success Communications, specializing in editorial content and consulting for the IT channel. His previous roles include chief editor at Business Solutions magazine and industry alliances director with Autotask. Contact Brian at [email protected].