Summary Bullets:
- While some elements of mobility portfolios remain static, all Tier 1 mobile operators profiled in GlobalData’s new report announced new capabilities for enterprise mobility in 2019.
- New offerings included unified endpoint management, multi-sourcing integration, device enrollment options, security enhancements, and new consulting deliverables.
Enterprise mobility services have been a mainstay of service provider portfolios for many years; as a result, some offerings (such as MDM) have commoditized and the market may appear static. Core capabilities (i.e., mobile devices, device lifecycle management, mobile device management, enterprise voice and data plans, device- and application-level security management, application development/enablement, telecom expense management, and business and technical consulting) are table stakes. But, service providers generate substantial revenues from enterprise mobility and therefore services need to remain fresh and relevant.
What’s New in the Market?
Most operators have added new capabilities over the past 12 months; all providers have evolved their MDM services to unified endpoint management (UEM), following their platform vendors’ new capabilities to manage laptops as well as mobile devices. Many have also added do-it-yourself enrollment options, allowing customers to go directly to MDM partners or device OEMs. Specifically:
- AT&T added new device management options: Apple Business Manager, Samsung Knox Mobile Enrollment, Android Zero-Touch Enrollment, IBM MaaS360 Lite, and Enterprise FOTA for Android. Its Cybersecurity group added licenses for UEM: VMWare Workspace One/Express (with optional AT&T professional services), MobileIron Core or Cloud, and IBM MaaS360. AT&T also added a ‘Mobility-as-a-Service’ (MaaS) bundle.
- BT now offers MobileIron UEM and Wandera for endpoint threat defense and data cost management. To secure remote access, clients can also now choose between cloud and premises services based on Pulse Secure and SonicWALL technologies with identity management via RSA.
- DT/T-Systems has a new focus on UEM with MobileIron, VMWare Workspace One, and Microsoft EMS. It offers a modular EMM suite (a managed, private cloud-based tiered service suite with different MDM options). It now also offers MobileIron Threat Defense, Netsfere messaging, and a new device lifecycle management (DLM) service.
- Orange has a new co-innovation approach to enhancements to its Mobile Multisourcing Integration service (which includes mobility incident, request, cost, contract, and global service management). It also has a new strategic BU for Smart Mobility Services.
- Telefonica has a new partnership with Ingram Micro to offer a ‘device-as-a-service’ proposal and a new reciprocal footprint extension alliance with Hutchinson that has started in Italy.
- Verizon now offers device enrollment programs for Apple, Samsung, and Google. MobileIron and IBM remain its primary resold platforms, plus its own MDM Software Management offer.
- Vodafone now offers Vodafone Device Manager Cloud, a branded, bundled cloud solution with MobileIron, VMware, and Zimperium threat manager. It also offers a MaaS bundle that includes DLM and TEM.
It is hard to call out a leader in the enterprise mobility segment, as operators may excel in some areas but have relatively smaller footprints and therefore fewer devices under management. Others offer few standardized services. Some service providers (operators and ITSPs) generate the most revenue from complex solutions in which mobility may be a small part, with less traction (and lower margins) for standardized offerings that depend on reseller agreements, such as MDM or TEM.
There clearly remain areas of growth. While MDM/EMM is now table stakes (and has evolved to UEM), mobile security solutions for identity management and real-time threat management continue to emerge, along with tiered services and bundles. Many service providers have streamlined, rationalized, or restructured their enterprise mobility portfolios, for a simpler and easier-to-buy solution set. End-to-end vertical packages and productized consulting deliverables help service providers appeal to businesses trying to sort through and assemble the right pieces to custom-fit their requirements.
IT Connection 