Tuesday, May 7th, 2013
Karen Ambrose Hickey, Editor
Today we announced our partnership with Accuris Networks, providing a solution to merge Wi-Fi and cellular network access for iOS and Android devices.
This solution using the iPass Open Mobile Exchange platform provides a seamless and secure device-based Authentication, Authorization and Accounting (AAA) for Wi-Fi roaming.
From Marcio Avilez, vice president of network services, “…market success requires a solution that will span multiple generations of Wi-Fi networks, leveraging the world’s current supply. By partnering with Accuris, we have created a solution to allow users to roam onto legacy Wi-Fi networks, helping to make Wi-Fi roaming widely available and relevant to the subscriber.”
For more information, including technical details, see our press release >>
Partnership with Accuris Networks for AAA for device Wi-Fi roaming >>
Thursday, April 25th, 2013
Karen Ambrose Hickey, Editor
Our Technical White Paper: iPass Open Mobile Overview has been updated.
The paper describes all of the policy options available to customers when deploying iPass Open Mobile. It also details how the entire authentication process to the iPass Mobile Network operates, which can be a source of questions. We cover other areas such as Network Selection Policies and setting Control Policies from the Portal; connection options, usage and controls for mobile devices; and available Mobility Usage Reports.
You will find that the paper is organized with sections for Open Mobile client capabilities for smartphones and tablets, Open Mobile client capabilities for Laptops, options available in the Open Mobile Portal and the more in-depth discussion on the iPass Mobile Network.
Read the Technical Overview >>
Updated Technical Overview of iPass Open Mobile >>
Monday, March 25th, 2013
Chris Witeck, Director Product Marketing
Today iPass released our Q1 2013 Mobile Workforce Report. In this report we interviewed 1,600 mobile workers across the globe to learn more about the mobile devices they use, how they use them for work and personal reasons and the impact that mobility has on their lives.
In our quarterly reports we are always looking at the latest statistics and trends regarding mobile devices and BYOD to see what’s changed from previous reports. In this quarter’s report there were a few items that jumped out to me as really interesting.
The first point I wanted to touch on is in regards to how many devices people carry with them when they travel. Previously we had noticed that the number of devices people carrying was tracking upwards, meaning that even with the advent of increasingly powerful devices, mobile workers were not consolidating devices. In this report we did see this trend stop. In 2011 Mobile Workers carried on average 2.7 devices (spanning tablets, laptops, smartphones, netbooks, etc.). In 2012 that jumped to 3.5 devices. For the Q1 2013 report that dropped to 3 devices (2.95).
Where was the drop? Slight drop across laptops carried (not surprising as increasingly powerful tablets can suffice as a laptop replacement in many instances) but also a slight drop in smartphones. My take on that is that with BYOD policies increasingly popular and accepted across the enterprise, many users no longer are traveling with two or more smartphones (their work issued device and their personal device) and instead are traveling with a single device that is used for work and personal reasons.
It will be interesting to monitor this trend going forward to see if it continues to decrease. I’m expecting the laptop number to keep to a downward trend as tablets and laptop/tablet hybrid devices allow users to leave that heavier laptop at home.
The second point is looking at tablets themselves. We asked mobile workers what tablets they currently own or intend to purchase in the next six months. No surprise that the iPad continues to be the tablet form factor of choice. But it is interesting to see a few other tablets work their way into the hands of mobile workers. 65% of mobile workers have or plan to get an iPad, along with 25% owning or planning to get an iPad Mini. However 28% of mobile workers have or plan to get a Samsung Galaxy tablet and over 17% plan have or plan to get a Windows 8 tablet. So this is another trend that will be fun to watch in coming quarters to see if Android and Windows tablets continue to gain traction as a serious iPad alternative.
We also in this report continue to find that most tablets in the hands of mobile workers are personally owned vs. work issued. In 2012 we found that 74% of tablets were personally owned (yet used for work and personal purposes) and in 2013 that number increased to 79%. That is interesting in that we have seen more organizations issuing tablets to their workers. I’m thinking that both personally owned and work issued tablets are growing markets, we are just seeing the market for personally owned tablets growing faster.
The last point I will touch on in today’s blog post is in regards to the cost of mobility. We asked mobile workers how much data they consume on their smartphones. In 2012, 30% answered “don’t know” or “don’t care”. That number dropped to 17% in 2013, showing that people are definitely paying more attention to their data consumption. That is expected as less and less mobile workers have access to unlimited data plans and more are using their own personal device- so are more likely to focus on the cost than if someone else was paying the bill.
This definitely can have performance impacts, if a mobile worker starts to bump up against a data limit, they will use that device less for work related purposes. This is something for the enterprise to consider as part of their BYOD policy, making sure BYOD doesn’t inadvertently limit productivity because of data costs borne by the employee. How much data is being used? We found that 30% of mobile workers are consuming more than 1GB per month. I expect that number to rise as we continue to see the proliferation of applications and services that are data hungry- things like video streaming and calling being used for work and personal reasons.
This is just a small sample of what is in this quarter’s report. To learn more be sure to download the entire report. Also, be sure to check out the information on iPass Open Mobile on our website. As organizations look to balance the requirements of BYOD and corporate issued devices while making sure employees stay productive on the go, iPass Open Mobile can serve as an effective way to make sure your employees stay connected without having to worry about data roaming costs and having to expense back Wi-Fi day passes.
Q1 2013 Mobile Workforce Report: BYOD and costs impact productivity >>
Monday, March 18th, 2013
Karen Ambrose Hickey, Editor
This Thursday, iPass is pleased to participate at: 2013: The Year to Define Your Mobile IT Strategy
Hosted by Esselar, our partner, the live event will help organizations become proactive, not reactive, in their BYOD and Mobile Device Management policies. The full agenda, networking lunch and panel discussion, provides many opportunities to answer your questions about your mobile enterprise strategy.
Attendees have already posted questions to be addressed at the event:
- We need to provide access to company systems, but we don’t want to restrict personal usage, or manage devices. How can we achieve this securely?
- How do financial services companies manage the device liability to ensure data is secure but also the Total Cost for Ownership for devices is fully understood?
- What are the major pitfalls?
- Where do you see the challenges in mobile enabling back end applications
- Will it be the case that any device can be accommodated?
- And many more…
The agenda includes key players in this space to address this challenge head-on. Join us for presentations from:
- Nicholas McQuire, VP, Mobile Enterprise Strategies Research, IDC: Strategic Mobile Enablement: Perspectives on the Next Phase of Enterprise Mobility
- Richard Neale, CTO, Esselar: Time to Stop Reacting, 2013 is Your Year to Get Proactive with Mobile IT
- Ray Smith, Regional Director – UK & Ireland, iPass: The Largest Global Wi-Fi Network for Smart Devices
- Phil Keeley, Senior Systems Engineer, Aerohive: Secure Wireless & Layer 7 Visibility
- Orlando Scott-Cowley, Director of Product Marketing, Mimecast: Mobile IT Has Broken Users’ Email and Fragmented Your Data. The Solution is the Cloud
- Jason Hart, VP, Cloud Solutions, SafeNet: Hacking the Virtual world
- Alistair Mutch, Director, UK Eire, MobileIron: Apps, Apps Everywhere – Now’s the Time to Think
- Eldar Tuvey, CEO, Wandera: Managing Mobile Data: The Missing Piece of the Mobility Puzzle
If you can’t make the event, you can follow the hashtag, #esselarworkplace, or watch for our follow-up blog on some of the key topics, takeaways and Q&A.
Register today.
Mobile IT Strategy event in London >>
