I unwrapped an Amazon Kindle a few days ago. My kids are roaming our house with iPod Touches. My wife wants a new smart phone. The world is waiting for an Apple Tablet device. My key question: As more and more mobile IP devices link to the Net, will customers (particularly small businesses) really call on managed service providers for mobile IP device help?
Frankly, I don’t have an answer yet. General purpose devices like servers and PCs require extensive remote, proactive management. But special-pursue devices — like a tablet or smart phone — seem to be pretty reliable.
Or are they? I certainly see opportunities for managed service providers to offer…
- Security services around emerging mobile devices. Lose the device and you’re going to want an MSP to either (A) track it down or (B) wipe the memory so your business information doesn’t wind up in someone else’s hands.
- Storage services. Yes, many mobile devices now have optional SaaS-oriented storage services. Apple’s Mobile Me service — with its iDisk storage — comes to mind. But many businesses already have SaaS storage in place, and they’ll need to connect the dots between those storage services and new mobile devices.
- Hosted Applications like VoIP and unified communication services for mobile devices. I’m hearing from more and more VARs that want to connect the dots between Asterisk (the open source IP PBX), Google Android (the smart phone operating system) and hosted VoIP services.
Still, I wonder: As small businesses start to spend more on emerging mobile devices will there be an opportunity for MSPs to cash in?
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Tags: Amazon Kindle | Apple iDisk | Apple Tablet | IP Devices | Managed security services | Managed Storage Services | Mobile Me
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Hi Joe, another great post.
I believe the world is constantly evolving and changing. Mobile communications and devices are part of the overall business information system and must become part of offerings leading IT Professionals manage if you want to truly service your clients. Blackberry services calls are on the rise, managing their previous two outages and then when email stops flowing they feel the pain first on mobile side at the weird hours of the day. One of HTG members in Canada even has a remote management and service solution for BlackBerry devices.
We have even started to partner with firms who can speak about marketing to mobile users within our client base. My friends at txtmenow.ca are helping us here.
Technology support is more than just fixing computers and maintain servers in today’s connected world. Just as much as helping our clients understand Twitter now we field questions on how to send Tweets from their BlackBerries.
So, we are helping with the management of BlackBerry devices, iPhones, teaming up with mobility providers and then taking it the next level and speaking to clients who can use wireless services to grow their business.
There are a tonne of opportunity to IT Professionals to make a buck in the wireless space.
Cheers
Stuart Crawford
Bulletproof InfoTech
Calgary, AB
http://www.bulletproofIT.ca
Stuart: I should have mentioned Blackberry services in my post. But I’m happy readers like you continue to fill in the blanks when I leave them…
-jp
Logicomm is essentially doing the same as Stuart & Co.: there are a whole slew of opportunities, particularly in the Unified Communications and Virtual LAN space that add value to these devices for SMB users. And then, as Stuart addresses, there’s the 3am email wake-up call:)
The MSP profession, due to the rapidly changing face of technology, become even more interesting as portability evolves.
I was at the airport early last week listening to a Parisian radio station on my iPhone after having done some last-minute holiday shopping, also from my iPhone, before getting an alert concerning a client’s server, which I investigated by logging on to the RMM system we use, again, from my iPhone. I even had 10 extra minutes before boarding call…
Imagine what one could accomplish with a virtual LAN with a slew of applications tailored for my mobile device? Or the information one could retrieve from a cloud based data store? THAT’s where MSPs will offer high value to mobile clients…and we’d better do so soon…
Jim Van
Logicomm, Inc.
http://www.logicomm-inc.com