At this week’s Gartner Mobile & Wireless Summit, Gartner analysts are doing the “Star Trek” thing: boldly going where no one has gone before, with recommendations for the conference attendees.
The recommendations come at the conclusion of each analyst’s presentation. Below, you’ll find the recommendations from several of those presentations.
What do you think of them? Do they fit with your experience in wireless and mobile computing? Are they insights or conventional wisdom?
Nick Jones, on “The Mobile Scenario: going beyond mobile workforce enablement”
* Ensure applications and processes are network independent. There will be many networks.
* Use wireless e-mail, but don’t get locked in to vendors or technologies and expect SIP to impact mobile communication/collaboration.
* Define policies and obtain tools to manage device proliferation.
* Explore convergence offerings to save money.
* Security is a manageable problem (if you pay). Consider a multizone strategy for security and management.
* Develop client-side applications using .NET or Java, not Symbian.
* Look for process redefinition opportunities.
John Pescatore, on “The future of information security”
* Demonstrate security service level.
* Benchmark and justify IT security spending.
* Avoid the hype. Anticipate.
* Anticipate that disruptive technologies and business process evolution will continue to drive security.
* Adopt the philosophy that security needs to be “baked into” IT systems and business processes.
Rachna Ahlawat, on “Wireless LAN Technology Scenario
* Purchase 802.11a/g access points and adapters with WPA or WPA2 support.
* Focus future planning for WLANs on 802.11a, not 802.11g.
* Own enterprise airspace and manage it.
* Understand that authentication decisions are complex, but will dramatically affect implementation decisions.
* Examine third-generation architectures for midsize to large installations; use fourth generation architectures only for voice or high-density installations.
* Consider incumbent LAN vendors for wireless and incumbent PBX vendors when WVoIP is required within a four-year time frame.
* Include peripheral attachment to WLAN backbone when examining WLAN ROI.
* Go after discounts aggressively if you are a Cisco client.
* Pursue hot spot access as a component of contracts with your incumbent WAN networking vendor.
Ken Dulaney on “An Update on Mobile Devices”
* IT planning must include the assumption that device choices will continue to proliferate.
* Treat all devices as varying flavors of a computer and manage them consistently.
* Software represents the greatest challenge in the success of mobile devices.
* Mobility management is straightforward if you follow the conventions established for PCs.
* Forms collection and message-based applications will be the most rapidly adopted.
