Multiple Choices

Given the wide range of mobile device management tools offering a patchwork of features and device compatibility, finding the right product isn’t easy. Baylor’s Crouch suggests that wireless administrators prioritize their management needs and then select the software that most closely matches their requirements. "Just make sure you do your research and get what you’re expecting to get," he says.

The situation is particularly chaotic for administrators who find themselves managing a mŽlange of cell phones, PDAs, laptops and other wireless units. For those managers, following Crouch’s advice isn’t that easy. Novell’s ZenWorks for Handhelds, for example, provides a wide range of management features, but it works only with Palm OS, Windows CE and Pocket PC systems. (BlackBerry support, they say, is in the works.) On the other hand, mFormation Enterprise Manager supports an extensive variety of PDAs and mobile phones, and an array of wireless networking technologies, but it doesn’t allow software distribution. For many enterprises, the only solution may be to acquire two or more management products.

Management software pricing varies widely. The mFormation Enterprise Manager, for example, costs $20,000 for the server software and between $55 and $75 per device. The software is also available as a hosted service ranging from $5 to $10 per device per month. Novell’s ZenWorks for Handhelds, on the other hand, is priced at a flat $59 per device.

Many wireless device administrators have responded to the confusion by sitting out this dance and waiting for the music to change. Truncated feature sets and compatibility shortfalls, as well as concerns about products keeping pace with wireless evolution, are deterring many enterprises from implementing any wireless management software. Ronni Colville, a wireless networking analyst at Gartner, predicts that software vendors will have a tough time attracting customers in sizeable numbers. "I would be surprised if these little devices are managed centrally even in three years," she says. "I think it will be a slow evolution."

Yet another factor wireless device management software adopters must consider is exactly how they will acquire the technology. Most such products come as licensed software. But as the need for comprehensive device management grows, wireless service providers, sniffing a revenue opportunity, have started offering management tools as add-ons to their service packages. Crouch, for example, licenses mFormation Enterprise Manager from service provider GoAmerica. He notes that the add-on approach has allowed Baylor to sidestep the cost and inconvenience of installing the application on its own servers. "Everything has worked as promised, and it’s been a very smooth rollout," says Crouch.