Author Archive
Wednesday, July 18th, 2012
Chris Witeck, Director Product Marketing
Yesterday on the iPass blog we gathered some outside opinions on the new Microsoft Surface tablet, which is a Microsoft produced tablet to compete with the iPad and other Android based tablets. What we highlighted are the positive and negative statements being made about this new tablet. Some people like the potential that is the tight integration with Microsoft Office, while others are not sure if this is truly ready for the Enterprise and if Microsoft is going to cause problems for their traditional partners by competing with them directly. Others have commented that all of the Windows 8 variants will be confusing.
I thought I would add my perspective here to these criticisms.
First, to tackle the Enterprise adoption question. Will the Enterprise adopt Microsoft Surface en masse? No, but I don’t think Microsoft is expecting this either. In today’s world of devices in the Enterprise you have two broad categories of devices. 1) Devices IT directly manages, i.e. the IT managed laptop, and 2) devices IT does not manage but supports, i.e. the tablet/smartphone that the user owns and IT lends application support to- so you can check your email and do other work related tasks (think BYOD and consumerization).
Microsoft historically has had a strong handle on #1. But #2 they have definitely struggled with as employees have gone out and purchased their own smartphones and tablets to use for both personal and business related reasons. It is for #2 that Surface is for.
Microsoft I believe will be quite content to allow the Enterprise to deploy Windows 7 laptops and have employees bring in Windows 8 tablets because that represents a win for Microsoft. Will employees see enough appeal in Surface to go out and buy it just like they are buying iPads and Android tablets? I think so, but we’ll definitely have to see how the market reacts. The Microsoft approach to tablets is different and unique enough to carve out a strong niche in my opinion.
Both Google and Apple have treated the tablet as an extension of the phone (based on the fact that the tablet O/S is a variant of the phone O/S). Microsoft had made the tablet an extension of the laptop O/S. This different approach represents both potential and risks for tablet owners. The potential in doing more types of content creation and having a fuller experience with certain applications such as Microsoft Office. The risk comes with traditional laptop bloat and battery drain as multiple applications compete for resources. The promise of the Windows 8 Metro interface is that the risks mentioned are minimized, but we’ll have to wait and see Windows 8 in action before making the final judgment.
Second, let’s talk about Microsoft competing directly with their partners. While Microsoft has talked up their history in hardware (think keyboards and mice), it is definitely new for them to produce a computing device outside of gaming. So while this does mean that Microsoft will be competing with traditional partners, I think the message here is more about creating a category than competition. Outside of Apple, no one has done really well with tablets (although you can make the case for Amazon and Barnes & Noble- but arguably many people see those a single purpose readers vs. tablets). As mentioned above, Microsoft is trying something new with tablets and the message with Surface is that they are trying to define that niche. If they are successful, there will be room for more, especially if partners come out with different form factors and different pricing strategies. If Surface becomes a huge hit, partners such as Dell, Acer, Lenovo and HP may thank Microsoft for the awareness created for Windows 8 tablets that may even create opportunities for traditional laptops as partners start to blend the concept of the laptop and the tablet together.
The last point is the potential confusion caused by all of the Windows 8 variants. This is where Microsoft definitely has a challenge ahead of them. When you think of Windows 8, you really have three different potential experiences that partners may present to users. 1) The classic Windows interface on an Intel based device. 2) The new Metro interface on an Intel based device, and 3) the new Metro interface on an ARM based device (Windows RT).
There will be application incompatibilities between these user experiences, as well as different application experiences on Metro vs. the classic Windows interface. Some Metro applications may be able to fall back to a classic Windows interface on a Intel based device, but will not be able to on an ARM/Windows RT based device. This may present challenges for Microsoft as users may get confused by the different variants. We saw this with the Surface announcement as Microsoft is rolling out both an ARM based and Intel based version. How Microsoft handles this in a non-confusing way remains to be seen, but I think out of the gate this is an area that needs improvement.
So to summarize, I think Microsoft has the potential to succeed with Microsoft Surface by targeting the business user/mobile worker – not by targeting the traditional Enterprise and they have a chance to create a unique niche not served by the iPad and Android tablets that will not only benefit Microsoft but their traditional partners as well. However, they have their work cut out for them to ensure users are not confused by different user experiences that all fit under the Windows 8 umbrella. The true test comes this fall with both Windows 8 and Microsoft Surface starts to hit the market.
Microsoft Surface for the business/mobile worker >>
Tuesday, March 27th, 2012
Chris Witeck, Director Product Marketing
Today, iPass announced a new Open Mobile offer called Open Mobile Express. I wanted to use this blog entry to provide some basic details on what Open Mobile Express is and why iPass is providing a new Open Mobile offer.
Open Mobile Express provides mobile employees seamless connectivity for smartphones, tablets and laptops to the iPass Mobile Network, providing a consistent user experience across all devices while avoiding costly roaming charges and expensive Wi-Fi day passes. How is this different than Open Mobile? First, let’s talk about how they are similar.
Both Open Mobile and Open Mobile Express are based on the Open Mobile Platform and are designed to simplify the user’s connectivity experience from any type of device. The difference is what you can do with those connections.
Open Mobile is a universal connection manager with comprehensive cost and security policy options that provide granular options on how employees connect to Ethernet, Wi-Fi and Mobile Broadband (3G/4G). So think a command and control connectivity solution for the Enterprise that provides several policy and reporting options above and beyond providing connectivity to the iPass Mobile Network.
Open Mobile Express focuses more on the ‘just connect me’ user who wants to take advantage of the cost advantages and ubiquitous availability of the iPass Mobile Network. The focus is on seamless connectivity across a wide range of devices vs. a universal connection manager managing all connections.
By providing both Open Mobile and Open Mobile Express, iPass now has a solution that meets the need of everyone. Those who want seamless connectivity to the iPass Mobile Network can evaluate Open Mobile Express. Those who want to layer on cost and security policies for all types of connections, not just those to the iPass Mobile Network, can evaluate Open Mobile.
More on Open Mobile Express
More on the Open Mobile Platform
See the press release
Introducing Open Mobile Express >>
Thursday, January 26th, 2012
Chris Witeck, Director Product Marketing
iPass Open Mobile client lets the enterprise deliver hassle-free Wi-Fi connectivity to its entire workforce, making getting onto the internet simple and consistent while on the go. Just recently we released the iPass Open Mobile client v2.0 for Macintosh.
This new release provides a significantly enhanced user interface that was designed to really improve the user experience, by providing more visual guides and references for getting connected and understanding the current status of the connection state. Full support for Mac O/S Lion was added in this release as well.
For users in a hurry, the Open Mobile client for Macintosh provides menu bar support, allowing Mac users quick access to commonly used features such as connectivity status and VPN status without having to open the full Open Mobile client.
The new Open Mobile client v2.0 for Macintosh is available now for all Open Mobile users. Administrators can build a v2.0 Macintosh client profile via the Open Mobile portal and then make the new client version available to their Macintosh users.
The overhauled Open Mobile for Macintosh >>
Monday, November 28th, 2011
Chris Witeck, Director Product Marketing
Some of you may have seen the earlier blog post referencing the press release that announced the Open Mobile integration for Juniper Networks Junos Pulse.
Today I want to provide a bit more context on why I think this is a big deal for the Enterprise. Let’s start at looking at some of the trends IT is facing. I think it is fair to say that IT is being asked to do more with less these days, with many of the investments in cloud computing and end-user liable devices designed to simplify the role of IT and move it away from infrastructure management. This way, IT can focus more on strategic initiatives that are core to the business.
Along these lines is a general desire to reduce the complexity of managing devices, partly to reduce the management burdens on IT, and partly to make devices such as laptops easier for users to use so they have less need to contact support. However, there still is a need to make sure that as IT reduces complexity there is not any compromise in security.
With these trends in mind, our technology partner Juniper designed Junos Pulse. Junos Pulse provides a unified client for Windows devices that consolidates VPN/Network connectivity, application acceleration and security into a single interface designed to minimize end user interaction. It is designed with the necessary intelligence to understand the user’s location (remote or on the network) and apply policy accordingly. The goal is to simplify, and minimize, the interactions required by users in order to connect to the network securely.
This makes sense to me, as one of the design goals we had with Open Mobile is to make the best connection choice for the user, so the user doesn’t have to. Partly to simplify the user’s experience, but partly to make the best decision. We believe that if you present the user with too many choices they will default to the easiest one, even if that is not the most secure or cost effective choice. With the Junos Pulse client, I think Juniper had the same belief.
So how does iPass Open Mobile work with Junos Pulse? With the Junos Pulse client, Juniper understood that connection management had an important role with providing that unified user experience for connectivity and security, where connectivity is more than connecting to the corporate network, but also connecting to the Internet itself. That is where iPass comes in. Through a Junos Pulse API, iPass Open Mobile can operate as a plug-in to the Junos Pulse Windows client. The user is presented with a list of available connection options within the Junos Pulse client, but the connection choices are managed by iPass. Organizations can still set connection policies for users on how they can establish Wi-Fi, Ethernet, Dial and Mobile Broadband connections just like they would with the standalone Open Mobile client, however they can have those policies apply to the Junos Pulse client. This provides a simpler experience for the user as there are less clients on the Windows device that they have to interact with.
To try this out, you need to be set up with access to both Junos Pulse and iPass Open Mobile. If your organization has a goal of simplifying the life of your end users and IT staff, I suggest it may just be worth checking out.
For more information check out you can check out more from iPass and from Juniper.
Open Mobile Plug-in to Junos Pulse >>
Monday, November 21st, 2011
Chris Witeck, Director Product Marketing
This is our fourth and final blog post highlighting the Open Mobile client v2.0 for Windows.
The first post provided and overview of the Open Mobile client v2.0 for Windows release. The second post provided an overview and video of the new Endpoint Integrity Verification feature. The third post last week provided an overview and video of the new Login Assist feature. This week we are going to take a closer look at enhanced 3G/4G usage limits made available with the v2.0 release.
Prior to the 2.0 release, Open Mobile for Windows supported the ability to set and manage Mobile Broadband roaming limits. This allowed administrators to allow or disallow roaming on Mobile Broadband data cards, and if allowed to place limits on how much data usage a user was allowed to use when roaming. This was added to help organizations avoid costly data roaming bills, often brought on by employee unintended usage (e.g. “I did not know streaming Netflix while in Japan would be so expensive”).
Being able to set roaming usage policies is a great tool for organizations in controlling their mobility costs. However, this did not help organizations who were facing overall usage limits on their Mobile Broadband data cards, the move away from unlimited data plans to limited data plans. While we often hear that only a small percentage of users exceed those data limits, that small percentage can add up to big costs for an organization and often our customer’s hear the same type of plea from the user- that they didn’t know that that their behavior had a large cost impact on the organization.
To address this, we made some great enhancements in the Open Mobile client v2.0 for Windows release. First we added in the ability to set Mobile Broadband usage limits for when users are not roaming. This allows you to tie an overall usage limit to what your data plan allows, and also warn the user with customizable messages as you approach the limit. The screenshot shows a policy that sets a 2GB overall usage limit per month, with a warning passed to the user when they hit 1.5 GBs of usage and additional warnings passed each 100MBs thereafter. Once the user gets to 2GBs of data usage in a single month, they will no longer be able to use their Mobile Broadband data card until the next billing month starts
The second enhancement we made with the 2.0 release is the ability to set the same type of usage limits for a personal hotspot. This is useful for Mobile Broadband 3G/4G devices that can act as a Wi-Fi hotspot, like a smartphone or a MiFi device. Organizations can register the SSIDs for those devices and apply a usage policy in the exact manner described above for a Mobile Broadband data card. It is important to note that Open Mobile is only tracking usage on that individual Windows device, so if that MiFi device is being used by a laptop, iPad and smartphone, you will only be tracking usage just through the Open Mobile client installed on the laptop. However, this is still useful in passing warnings to the user as well as setting high bandwidth warnings if you notice a large amount of usage in a short amount of time (e.g. streaming a video).
Note that with any of these scenarios that we have walked through that you don’t have to take to block access, instead you can just pass the warnings to the user. I get comments all the time that organizations don’t want to block access outright, but pass information to users with the assumption that if the user has the best information possible, they will make the right decision.
I hope you enjoyed this blog post as well as the previous entries in our series highlighting just some of the great new features in the Open Mobile client v2.0 for Windows release. Want to learn more? Go to www.ipass.com.
3G/4G Usage Limits- Open Mobile for Windows >>
