Choosing mobile phones
The choice of mobile phone for the business user has never been so difficult and there are so many things to consider when making the choice.
- look and feel
- how will it be used
- how will it integrate with existing business systems
- how secure is it and can it be remote wiped if lost or stolen
- how will it be supported by IT support
- will it work with existing car kits
- how long will the battery last
- how much will it cost
- will the manufacturer support it with software upgrades and fixes
- will the apps you need be available and cost effective
- will software on the device be safe and free from malware in various forms
These are some of the questions to be asked before choosing a mobile device. Companies also need to consider issues of having numerous different devices in use and the implications for support of users and business applications. For instance with a mobile workforce, it might be policy to use an expenses tracking application. If users have a mix of handsets the expenses application is unlikely to run on all of them meaning the business has to use different systems to track expenses from different users. This will complicate reporting and management of expenses.
With all the issues to consider every company has to make an informed decision based on its existing systems and it needs. It is very unlikely that allowing users to buy whatever handset they want will result in a cost effective and easy to manage mobile infrastructure that fulfils its needs.