Secure and Mobilize

We (like most companies) are currently working through our marketing cycle for the coming year. Who do we target, with what, how, etc. One of the core requirements of dealing with complex technology is finding a bumper-sticker description that encapsulates the central concept of your offering, and provides a frame of reference when targeting a business audience. We put a lot of thought into positioning and messaging, and then, of course, the core theme popped out almost unbidden: Secure and Mobilize. This not only describes the core Sybase mobility offering, it also describes the underpinnings of the transformative nature of what the enterprise market is poised to go through in 2011 and beyond.

Secure

This is what I have referred to as the no-brainer part of mobility. If you have devices, they have to be secured. So what exactly does that mean? It means the end user doesn’t have to worry about the unsexy aspects of managing the device. For example, in a secured device model, software updates and security patches are downloaded automatically, data on the device is automatically backed up (and encrypted while on the device), if the user doesn’t use the device after a designated time period, the data goes away automatically, if it gets stolen or lost, the device is killed remotely (it doesn’t explode or melt, it just stops working). The point in all this is that securing the device shields the end user from its complexities and nuances, which are substantial, and not part of the core experience the user had in mind while selecting the device. More importantly, using the device in an enterprise setting is very different from use in general purpose consumer mobility; after all, that’s your high-value data flying around the ether, when it lands on the device you need to ensure information integrity, and that starts with a highly secure device.

Mobilize

While the most obvious component of mobility is the cool device in your hand, the overall concept is far more enveloping and extensive. In the context of the enterprise, mobility is (obviously) about work, on three levels. The worker, the workgroup, and the workflow.
Nearly all workers in an enterprise are exposed to computer-based information on some level, most of us sit planted in front of a screen all day, and if we go to a meeting, we take our screens (laptop, tablet, or smartphone) with us so we can check e-mail while pretending to listen. The mobile device is an accelerant, and integral to our day-to-day, regardless of the form factor, and regardless of whether we are information or task workers.

Nearly all workers in an enterprise are also part of a workgroup; very few of us work in isolation, and quite often our success or failure is a function of the group’s ability to process and/or deliver information efficiently. Since pretty much everyone in a group has a mobile device on some level, providing mobilized information at a level that catalyzes the group dynamic will have a significant leverage effect.
Nearly all workers in an enterprise are also part of a workflow; whether it’s building a car, processing a mortgage, developing software, or baking donuts, everyone is part of a production workflow of products and/or information that can benefit from a mobilized infrastructure. If you secure the device, the worker, workgroup, and workflow are far more efficient and effective. If you mobilize, the enterprise, its supply chain, and distribution channels become far more adaptive and able to respond to customer needs, which always has a positive effect on both top and bottom line revenues.