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00617Mobile First? Try Mobile Only: 5 Areas Where Partners Should InvestBy Kevin Casey

JU

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2017 |

US

$25 |

S200617Mobile First?

Try Mobile Only: 5 Areas Where Partners Should InvestBy Kevin Casey

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Table of Contents

1. Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) . . . . . . . . . . 62. Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) & Desktops-as-a-Service (DaaS) . . . . . . . . . . . 73. Devices, Devices, Devices . . . . . . . . . . . . 74. Applications & Mobility Management . . . . . . 85. Mobile Security . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9Create Value for Your Customers . . . . . . . . . . 9Help Customers Fulfill the Potential of Their Mobile Workforces . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

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KEVIN CASEY writes about technology and business for a wide variety of publications and companies. He won an Azbee Award, given by the American Society of Business Publication Editors, for his InformationWeek.com story, “Are You Too Old for IT?” He’s a former community choice honoree in the Small Business Influencer Awards.

About the Author

linkedin.com/in/kevincasey @kevinrcasey

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VESTMobile First?

Try Mobile Only: 5 Areas Where Partners Should InvestANYONE WITH A PULSE KNOWS MOBILITY HAS TAKEN OVER THE BUSINESS WORLD.

Some companies have already embraced a mobile-first IT strategy as a result, arming employees with tablets and smartphones in lieu of the once indispensable PC, a key factor in declining PC sales in recent years.

The Rise and Fall of PC SalesWorldwide PC shipments from 2006 to 2016, in million units

Source: Gartner

239.2

272.5 29

0.8 308.3

350.9 365.4

351.1

316.5

313.7

287.7

269.7

2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

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But the conventional wisdom holds that this strategy is largely confined to specific roles and groups where mobile devices and apps are a natural fit, such as field service personnel or retail sales staff. Could the same PC displacement trend extend to knowledge workers, back-office functions and other business units? Will “mobile-first” give way to mobile-only? It depends on who you ask, of course, but it’s most certainly possible, and partners need to plan accordingly for a world where “the office” is an increasingly abstract place.

“Today, a workplace is defined by where the user and his device are,” says Techaisle principal analyst Anurag Agrawal. His firm tracks the small and midsize business (SMB) IT markets, as well as the channel partners that often serve those SMBs’ technology needs. “Mobility is not therefore limited to the field staff.”

Indeed, it’s not — just about any worker can benefit from mobile. “Mobile fits the lifestyle of today’s on-the-go workforce,” says Mark Magnacca, president and co-founder of Allego, a sales learning video platform. Allego built its app mobile-first, according to Magnacca, for its core audience: salespeople, one of those natural fits for mobile. But now its audience is expanding because the mobile workforce as a whole is growing. And guess what? You’re a part of it, too. “As the trend toward mobile-first has broadened, it’s gone from a sales-only audience to the next concentric circle, which includes product experts, systems engineers and the channel partner community,” Magnacca says. (We’ll get back to that last important group — you — later in the Report.)

No, not every company will go 100 percent, just as not every organization will move every single workload to a cloud environment. But you can expect things to at least move in that direction increasingly over time.

“I think mobile-only definitely is the future,” says Telecomquotes.com CEO Michael Bremmer, who adds that his own shop is already mobile-only.

Even in organizations where PCs will continue to live long and productive lives, the underlying forces that make mobile-first and mobile-only environments possible will still be in play. In fact, the traditional distinctions between what we call a desktop versus a laptop versus a tablet versus a smartphone will inevitably become blurrier and blurrier. Even in organizations that don’t truly go mobile-only, it might still appear that way, thanks to changing form factors and peripherals. And some new devices might in fact make mobile-only much more real. Bremmer notes, for example, Samsung’s recently announced Samsung Desktop Experience (DeX) docking device, which intends to extend the Galaxy S8 smartphone into a desktop-like experience. Samsung’s slogan for DeX? “Leave your computer behind.” Bremmer thinks that if Apple also develops a similar accessory for the iPhone, the needle will move substantially toward more mobile-only work environments.

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Here are five areas where the experts advise partners to invest so as to ensure they’re continuing to solve their clients’ most pressing business and technology needs in a mobile-dominated world.

1. Software-as-a-Service (SaaS)

The explosion of the mobile workforce is powered not just by the devices themselves but by a corresponding surge in cloud computing, and especially the SaaS category. SaaS apps are an ideal fit for mobile workers and make mobile-only approaches a real possibility.

For instance, Bremmer says his company runs almost entirely on cloud-based apps, including Google Apps and a hosted VoIP platform, which in turns allows the company to be mobile-only.

Again, when people describe the “anytime, anywhere” workplace, it’s not smartphones or tablets alone that make this reality — it’s the 24/7 access to the applications and data people need to do their jobs. Some organizations might not run

The Samsung DeX lets users connect their Galaxy S8/S8+ to a monitor, keyboard and mouse for a desktop experience powered by their phone.

Pho

to: S

amsu

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SaaS Adoption by U.S. SMBs2011

2014

2016

2017 (Forecast)

Source: Techaisle

27%

58%

73%

94%

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almost entirely on SaaS as Bremmer’s firm does, but it’s increasingly difficult to find companies — especially those with significant, growing mobile workforces — that don’t run any SaaS apps. Partners that can help customers navigate the enormous SaaS universe — from the monsters like Microsoft and Google to vertical industry applications to custom-built software — and make mobile workers truly productive will be in demand for a very long time.

2. Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) & Desktops-as-a-Service (DaaS)

Plenty of partners already offer VDI solutions, from implementation to ongoing maintenance. DaaS, on the other hand, is newer and less common. (If you’re fuzzy on the differences between the VDI and DaaS, here’s a primer.) Both enable partners to meet a wide range of customer needs in the so-called post-PC era. As MicroCorp CEO/COO Karin Fields points out: “Just as one size does not fit all, neither does one solution. Successful partners will be the ones who are able to match customer needs with the appropriate solutions.”

VDI and DaaS expertise will make it easier for partners to meet that diverse set of needs and should be especially useful in helping customers who might aspire to a mobile-only environment but will realistically need to retain the desktop experience for certain tasks and jobs for the foreseeable future. For example, a mobile-first office might just run virtual desktops on thin clients for certain employees in lieu of traditional PCs, something that already happens frequently today. As it presumably matures, DaaS might move the needle even more. “As DaaS becomes more relevant, does the PC really matter?” Fields asks.

3. Devices, Devices, DevicesA growing mobile workforce does not mean channel customers no longer need

help outfitting their employees with hardware. It just means that hardware is no longer tethered to a physical office, nor is it necessarily taking the form of a traditional laptop or desktop.

In fact, there’s an argument to be made that the increasingly foggy distinctions between different form factors, evident in hybrid devices such as the Microsoft Surface or phone screens that are positively tablet-esque in size, actually increase the need for a channel partner who can help sort through all of the options. Companies and their employees have greater choice when it comes to hardware, operating systems and other options than ever before, and they’re not necessarily equipped or inclined to navigate that menu alone. Add to that the complexities that come with the BYOD era, and you’ve got yourself a business opportunity.

According to Agrawal, SMB buyers in particular clearly and consistently say their requirements include the ability to support a diverse (and evolving) set of form factors and screen sizes, multiple operating systems, multiple OEMs, multiple configurations and a workforce that — to put it politely — might not be adhering to mobile management and security best practices.

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“Channel partners can not only offer these devices but provide effective managed services offerings to manage the devices,” Agrawal says.

That’s an ongoing, long-term need, too, because both hardware and its users’ preferences are always evolving. Fields notes that some places that went tablet-only after the iPad burst on the scene have gone back to traditional laptops or to newer devices (such as the aforementioned Surface) that are actively erasing the line between the two terms.

4. Applications & Mobility ManagementAs the number of different mobile application types continues to increase,

Agrawal says there will be a corresponding demand spike in the channel market for both application integration and mobility management. He describes the latter as “integrated infrastructure, security and management of the [company’s portfolio of] mobile devices, applications and solutions.” In other words, as the mobile workforce continues to expand, it needs a lot of help keeping everything running productively and securely.

“Manageability” typically tops the list of SMB buying criteria when it comes to mobility solutions, according to Techaisle’s research. In other words, it’s not just about finding the best deal on a slew of new devices and apps, but about efficiently and securely maintaining that portfolio over time. That also likely includes the ability to manage employee-owned devices, especially in midsize companies. “Channel partners have a very strong and relevant role to play [here],” Agrawal says.

Back to that explosion of application types. While applications such as email are certainly already mundane (though still wholly necessary) for mobile workers, there are plenty of other categories set to grow rapidly. Allego’s Magnacca points to one example in his own firm’s wheelhouse: mobile video. Just as online video in general has become a dominant media type, Magnacca expects mobile-first video to be a big deal not only for channel partners’ customers but partners themselves, especially in how they engage with the vendors they sell.

“Given the speed of adoption of this emerging trend, now is the time to start piloting mobile video technology to better understand the opportunities and the challenges related to integrating this technology into your corporate workflow,” Magnacca says. He points to YouTube’s staggering viewing stats and the inevitability that it will soon pass broadcast TV in terms of hours viewed as Exhibit A in the case for video’s massive popularity. “This speaks to the urgency of getting a mobile video strategy in place.”

Remember when Magnacca mentioned channel partners earlier as part of his own app’s expanding mobile audience? That’s because mobile’s not just an increasing priority for your customers, but also in how you engage with your vendors. Magnacca expects more technology vendors to rely on mobile-first video for working effectively and efficiently with their channel agents, from onboarding and ongoing training to ensuring the consistency and efficacy of sales and marketing messaging and other functions. (To learn more about how you and your customers can use video in marketing, see our Report.)

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“For example, one high-tech company has a broad range of video-based content for its own internal sales force. It then uses a subset of this content for its channel partners based upon its relevance for a given geography or product set,” he says.

5. Mobile SecurityThe mobile revolution rapidly expanded the security threat surface for most

organizations. Agrawal emphasizes a significant need in the marketplace for partners that can help keep their customers’ mobile workforces secure. He notes that most companies are unreasonably optimistic about their security posture, and he’s definitely not alone in that view. But even the overconfident set recognizes it needs help. A Techaisle survey found that just 19 percent of U.S.-based SMBs believed they were “fully prepared” for the vast array of threats out there, for example. That’s an obstacle that many firms face with their mobile workforces, according to Agrawal.

U.S. SMB Mobile Security Preparedness

Source: Techaisle SMB & Midmarket Security Adoption Trends Survey

18%

Unsure

As prepared as can be45%

19%13%

5%Not very well prepared

Partially prepared with known gaps

Fully prepared and confident

“Channel partners need to help businesses establish frameworks that protect against both external and employee threats to information security,” he says.

Beyond these technology categories, there are two overarching ideas partners should consider when it comes to planning your mobile strategies: helping customers create value and helping them fulfill the potential of their mobile employees.

Create Value for Your CustomersThe very idea of mobile-only workplace is representative of a much broader shift

in how companies buy and use technology. That shift, in turn, has forced significant changes in the channel market.

“In the past, agents sold two things: cost savings and, to a much lesser extent, innovative products, like integrated T1,” Bremmer says. “The new reality is if you’re not creating substantial value for your customer, why would they buy from you? Google can give them the information needed to reduce cost, almost instantly.”

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Put another way, Bremmer believes it’s important (and fun) to solve problems that others can’t — that’s value. It also means investing in a broader set of technology categories — the five discussed in this Report are a good example — than ever before, whether for the mobile workforce or elsewhere. “I have to have a working knowledge across a broad base of technologies and be able to provide the specialists as needed,” Bremmer says.

Bottom line: “Customer expectations are different and higher than they’ve ever been, which means we’ve got to bring out our ‘A’ game every appointment, and continue to do so with quarterly business reviews,” Bremmer says.

Help Customers Fulfill the Potential of Their Mobile WorkforcesIt’s not that costs no longer matter. In fact, that’s one of the driving forces in mobile-

first and mobile-only environments: the opportunity for significant savings. Agrawal offers a different perspective on delivering value for mobile customers: According to Techaisle research, total cost of ownership is the biggest challenge SMBs face when supporting the mobile workforce over time.

Within that overarching challenge, Techaisle has found that small businesses tend to struggle with the on-ramps to true mobility, including identifying the right suppliers. Midsize companies, on the other hand, tend to need more help with security (as discussed earlier) and data protection, as well as mobile management — the latter, in particular, makes logical sense, because management tends to become more complex as the number of users grows.

“This is an exploding area of investment which is why you see vendors such as VMware AirWatch, Citrix and Microsoft InTune focusing their attention [there],” Agrawal says. He adds that cost isn’t the only thing driving mobile adoption: It is believed that employees can be more productive when outfitted with the right mobile tools, but that ideal is easier said than done.

As Bremmer said: Solve problems that others can’t. Solving the business problems that come with ubiquitous mobility helps your customers empower their mobile workers, whether they’re truly mobile-only or not. That sounds a lot like value, one in which customers will gladly invest.