Mobile Devices Find A New Home

Following my colleague Andrew Jaquith's eloquent post, I thought it fitting that I add a post about changes in coverage and how they'll affect me. Before I do, however, I want to lend my voice to wish Natalie all the best in her new endeavor, it will be fun to run into her on the "opposite side of the table" in briefings in the future, and I'm thrilled that I'll be able to maintain professional ties with Natalie as she moves into the next phase of her career.

So, what's going to change for me and my coverage at Forrester as a result of Natalie's move? Well, as some of you know due to some communication I had with you last week, as a result of coverage shifting around, I'm very happy to announce that I am taking over Enterprise Mobile Device research for the Infrastructure and Operations team at Forrester to provide Ben Gray with some bandwidth to take on some of Natalie's virtualization coverage, details of which I'll leave best shared by Ben.

What's in store for my research?

• Mobile device hardware: As a an area of intense personal interest for me (ask anyone on the team, I should have a holster belt I'm always toting so many various devices) mobile device hardware is an area of research I can't wait to embark upon. I think we'll see many interesting things over the course of 2010, namely a continuation in the growth of the type of mobile devices enterprise IT departments support and the solutions that are made available to users on those devices, which brings me to the next element of new coverage for me...
• Mobile device operating systems: If there's a battle afoot for the hearts and minds of users - both enterprise and consumer - it's among the various operating systems Android, RIM BlackBerry, iPhone OS, Palm WebOS, Symbian, Windows Mobile and others. I'll be leading Forrester's enterprise IT user-focused coverage on this space.

What's not on my plate?

• Mobile device management: While I'm likely to be looking at mobile device-specific management tools as a the analyst covering mobile device use in the enterprise, the convergence of PC and mobile device management is a topic Ben Gray will be focusing on. In short, Ben and I will be playing roles of primary and secondary analyst, respectively, on this very important area of innovation for IT users.
• Mobile device security: As Andrew noted in his post, he will be taking on client security, which will deal with the anti-virus, anti-malware protection of all client devices and I'll leave matters of security in his more-than-capable hands. 

I will maintain my coverage of Wireless LAN, Remote Access, and Branch Consolidation/Optimization, however, stay tuned for some exciting developments in the networking space over the coming quarter!

Please reach out to me directly with any questions you have.

By Chris Silva

Check out Chris' research

You can follow Chris on  here

Your New Client Security Analyst

After seven years, my colleague Natalie Lambert is leaving Forrester. In the year that I have been at Forrester, she has been a good team-mate, sounding board for ideas, gleeful mischief-maker, and collaborator on shared research topics. I will miss her insights and energy, and I wish her the best as she begins her next adventure.

Natalie covered quite a bit of ground: client security, client management, endpoint virtualization, Bring-Your-Own-PC programs, full disk encryption and several other topics. While it would be impossible to fill her shoes, I am strapping on my hip waders and immersing myself in several of her research topics.

Specifically: henceforth, I will cover all client security topics for Forrester. These include:

• data leak prevention (DLP) on the client
• full disk encryption
• client security (anti-malware and anti-virus)

I am pleased to cover client security topics again. I wrote extensively about client security for three-and-a-half years before coming to Forrester. Among other things, I correctly predicted that Windows Vista would have no effect on the Windows security aftermarket — six months before Vista launched. And in 2006 and 2007, I anticipated the rapid move of anti-virus to the cloud, which we see today in Panda Security’s “collective intelligence,” in McAfee’s Artemis project, Trend Micro’s Smart Protection Network, and in new startups like Immunet. For cloud coverage of client security, I will partner with Chenxi Wang, but security topics that have anything to do with stuff sitting on endpoints, I will be your analyst.

I will not take on any of Natalie’s IT operations topics, such as BYOPC, mobile management, client management. These areas will be covered by other analysts on the infrastructure and operations (I&O) research team, chiefly Chris Silva and Ben Gray. Rather than speak for them, I will let them speak for themselves. I will collaborate with Ben and Chris on security strategies and best practices as it affects their topics.

I will also retain my coverage of data security topics, notably data leak prevention (DLP) and enterprise rights management. A few subjects will transition to my other colleagues on the Security and Risk team. We will likely announce details after we conclude those discussions.

In the meantime, Forrester customers who would like clarification on what the shift in security coverage means for you should contact their client services representative. I would be happy to speak with you! But the short answer is that not much is changing. You will talk to me rather than Natalie. She provided excellent coverage of client security topics, and I will strive to do the same.

 

[posted by Andrew Jaquith]

Why Mobility Will — And Does NOW — Matter To EAs And IT

Here at Forrester, we spend a good deal of time talking about the future of the mobile enterprise. Whether that's an emerging standard for a faster, more capable mobile network or a future of all-out mobile connectivity with applications and devices ready to tap into it.

The fact is, while much talk about mobile has a tone of "impending trend" to it, there are currently many mobility initiatives afoot in your organization, some of which IT knows about, some which it may not. So, as it turns out, while mobile seems to be a lot of futurespeak, it turns out it does actually matter to CIOs, and has been highlighted in Forrester's recent "The Top 15 Technology Trends EA Should Watch" report.

When Forrester thinks about mobility, it splits into three categories:

• Mobile infrastructure — The networks and services that devices tap into, users rely on and mobile applications rely on to function.
• Mobile devices — From laptops and netbooks to iPhones, BlackBerries, and other smartphones, these are the devices hosting those mobile applications and tapping into that mobile infrastructure.
• Mobile applications — What use is a capable, highly-connected device if users can't use a portable or mobile version of an application on the device?

According to the "Top 15..." report, all three areas: mobile networks gaining in power, mobile devices strengthening and mobile apps going mobile each represent an area of high business impact. The upside of arming your users with the combination of these three technology elements can reap great rewards in productivity, user satisfaction and business efficiency.

Why watch these areas of technology development so closely, then? While mobile devices and networks gaining in capacity and capability is more of an organic trend, reflected by its "medium" label in the "newness" category, understanding which applications will make the best use of these devices, and offer users the best potential for more flexible, efficient workstyles is something many organizations Forrester speaks to are still trying to figure out, hence the "very high" ranking in newness?

What to do, then? Take on the least "new" technologies into consideration first and create a strategy around that platform decision.

Step one, understand what the network and device mix is shaping up to be in your organization. As one example; are you focused exclusively on external network use and are a BlackBerry shop? Explore how external carrier-owned networks can extend users' connectivity and establish a device migration timeline to take into account RIM's newest BlackBerry platforms and when and how they'll enter your environment, how they'll be managed and secured. Step two, once this is in place, work with application development teams to ensure the capabilities of both the devices and networks that your organization is standardizing on are taken into account when developing mobile applications or evaluating mobile platform vendors.

Thinking about mobile as not just a "now" technology, but taking into account networks, devices, and software as one connected ecosystem will ensure an investment in one of the three, key areas of mobility does not adversely affect the others. After all, successful implementations of technology will allow it to change business for better, not for worse. See the list of recommendations for IT leaders in our Top 15 technology report here.

So next time you're on a plane, or simply logging into your VPN from the local coffee shop, take note of the experience; is this the way your entire organization should be served in the event of a disaster?

By Chris Silva

Check out Chris' research

You should follow me on  here

It's Flu Season, Connect AND Optimize Your Workers

I recently took part in my first Wi-Fi enabled flight (AA 387 STL — SAN) and, in addition to raving about the experience, I found it one of the better ways to make productive use of otherwise lost time. While the speed was reasonable, and better than I'd expected, there was a separate tier of experience that I encountered as a result of being a mobile user accessing Forrester's services and applications from 30,000 feet. 

A separate level of speed and responsiveness is a normal part of the conversation around mobile and remote user support, and while an airplane with Wi-Fi is an extreme example, the impact to productivity on users relying on remote access such as SSL VPN connections for day-to-day work quickly adds up as more users are leveraging these means for connectivity. Fact is, while most of the focus of late on providing access for continuity in light of disruptions like office closures for H1N1, the focus takes into account only a portion of the problem: access, but does not address an issue with potentially further-reaching affects: parity of experience. As long-term remote access scenarios loom as an increasingly likely.

A handful of vendors tackling issues of network performance for branch and remote users are addressing the needs of the mobile user through mobile WAN optimization. In short, in mobile WAN optimization, a piece of software residing on the mobile users takes the place of a WAN optimization appliance that would sit in a branch office or datacenter front-ending the user's connection. In this way, a user can have their connection optimized, experience the perceived uptick in bandwidth speed that comes from compressing and prioritizing application data and, when possible, caching information — in the case of an offering from vendor Expand Networks, creating a virtual cache across multiple mobile users in a branch — to ease the burden on the WAN link.

As users connect from more and varied locations — and Forrester data shows that, while internal WLAN is the number one means for wireless connectivity, other modalities such as those from cellular carriers are among the top three — the need to provide optimization in addition to remote connectivity for these users is critical. Ensuring that users can connect to resources may allow for business operations to maintain continuity but providing a parity of experience to an office or wired connection can ensure that that continuity does not equal an efficiency hit when multiplied across an entire organization which is sifted to a remote worker environment.

So next time you're on a plane, or simply logging into your VPN from the local coffee shop, take note of the experience; is this the way your entire organization should be served in the event of a disaster?

By Chris Silva

Check out Chris' research

You should follow me on  here

How Virtual Can Your Organization Get?

The answer, based on research recently completed by Doug Washburn and I, entirely. With the help of Christine Perkett, President and founder of PerkettPR — an organization of all virtual employees — we studied the IT infrastructure, productivity, and green benefits of PerkettPR's last ten years as an organization reliant on geographically scattered workers and reliable remote access to systems and information.

True to the topic's virtual focus, the entire idea began with a virtual exchange. I was initially intrigued by a Tweet that Christine submitted to her 12,000+ user following on Twitter, pondering the green effects and savings her company had garnered over the past ten years as a virtual organization.

Some of the findings in the document center on what seem, in Perkett's opinion, like common sense, but aren't always readily apparent to workers or to organizations:

• Creating a standard for computing and mobile device configuration is critical, especially when, as with users, all IT support is remote.
• Centralized administrative functions are also key; despite the lack of a physical office, an operations staff can help with streamlining processes as simple as ordering office supplies, which can stymie a virtual workforce and sap valuable time.

For all of the standardization, Perkett is not merely a virtual organization, but a profitable and productive model of one as well, the company has found:

• Virtual workers are more productive; time savings from not commuting — coupled with flexible working hours — leads PerkettPR staff to be 50% - 75% more productive based on analysis compared to traditional, commuting office workers.
• Virtual workers are greener; the company has calculated its CO2 savings at 4.4 tons of Carbon Dioxide per year, the equivalent of running 33 laptops 24x7x365!

The best practice document, published this week on the Forrester website — and featured in a PerkettPR blog post — includes a series of checklists and workbooks outlining critical elements for green companies, virtual organization, and remote workers. You can check out the full document here.

As always your thoughts and comments about your organization's virtual workplace successes, experiments — and even failures — are encouraged.

By Chris Silva

Check out Chris' research

You should follow me on  here

Optimizing The Branch Part 3: Three Models For Consolidation

I've put together another video blog this time getting into the detail on the various models I see for branch office server and infrastructure consolidation, based on the findings of my recent TechRadar. 

Forrester IT Operations Blog Branch Office Consolidation

You should follow me on  here

Optimizing The Branch Part 2: Forrester's Take on Branch Office Consolidation

In the first IT Infrastructure & Operations video podcast, I discuss trends in branch office consolidation as presented at Forrester's recent IT Forum US event, with a lovely backdrop of the Las Vegas strip. Read the accompanying report here.

By Chris Silva

Check out Chris' research

Optimizing The Branch, Part 1: Mobilizing IT

Writing on technologies for the branch office often times places me across the domains of mobility and non-mobile network infrastructure. Increasingly, in client inquiry calls, the question of "how do I optimize my branch office infrastructure" comes up and takes many forms. I'll attempt to address the most common of these branch office optimization scenarios in a series of posts. This being the first of such posts, I'll tackle one of the more basic optimization questions; connectivity for the small branch office.

In many organizations, the pure issue of connectivity for the branch can be a headache for IT Ops. When 10 - 20 users, or even fewer in many small or remote offices, are in need of access many organizations seek the most flexible, least infrastructure-intensive solution. In many cases spectre of unmanaged Wi-Fi access points at these branches and the related on-site support they may require is a deal-breaker, outweighing the operational benefit of simple, pervasive Wi-Fi connectivity using commodity hardware. Controller-based solutions, however, can seem overkill from either an infrastructure expense standpoint or in terms of sheer infrastructure complexity when contrast to the lack of or need for reduction in branch office IT staff. So, what does an organization seeking to "light up" its small branch offices with little or no infrastructure do? They outsource connectivity, of course. 

Many firms seeking to replicate "wired equivalent" connectivity speed for users in a small branch have opted for mobile broadband solutions from GSM and CDMA carriers. Based on current offerings, HSPA and EVDO-based offerings provide users ~1Mbit of uplink throughput, and about half that downlink will serve users with roughly equivalent speed to that of a fragmented (read: shared) DSL connection provided by local wireline carriers. A fair solution, but at $50 - $60 per month for high-limit plans, cost quickly becomes a factor.

Enter Novatel Wireless. a vendor primarily known for USB, PCMCIA and Express Card dongles for connecting existing hardware such as laptops to carrier networks. Novatel has harnessed the power of 3G EVDO for backhaul and Wi-Fi for access distribution in one device. The Novatel MiFi 2200, announced yesterday by US CDMA carrier Sprint for availability in June and also announced this month by US CDMA carrier rival Verizon Wireless for availability next week changes the dynamic of 3G as a connectivity option for the branch. As many reviewers have expounded, the ability to share 3G signal using commodity Wi-Fi is a dynamic-changer for power users on the go, but the real benefit will be seen by small groups of users able to establish and share ad-hoc connectivity anywhere 3G signal is available. This solution can extend the reach of the 3G many organizations are already using to connect branch office workers to the WAN while cutting costs of maintaining multiple data subscriptions.

In the case of Sprint, the potential to support branches of 10+ users using a MiFi device becomes more intruiging as future device roadmaps show the next generation sporting a two chipsets (WiFi and WiMax) capable of connecting to the carrier's WiMax network (co-operated with Clearwire and other partners) which will allow the WiMax network (offering upwards of 6Mbit uplink) to provide backhaul for and entire branch office while still being priced at the cost of 1-2 of the aircards that it will replace.  

The promise of WiMax to solve connectivity ills has been long promised and, at present and in all fairness, the Sprint-Clearwire Clear network is limited to few geographic locations. If aggressive roadmaps are to be believed, though, cost-effective connectivity for branch sites is not far in the future. In the meantime, for small (sub 10-user) branch sites that are supporting multiple aircards for basic connectivity have a new, economy-friendly ally in the MiFi2200.

By Chris Silva

Check out Chris' research

Blue Coat: Creating An Economic Advantage For Users In 2009?

Last week, Blue Coat gathered analysts in New York City for its Application Delivery Network Briefing Event to showcase its newest offerings, some of which are not yet released, and give the analyst community an update on where things stand following the company’s acquisition of Packeteer, completed in June of 2008.

Long story short? The vendors’ roadmaps have merged and it seems Blue Coat is doing a solid job of integrating the visibility and deep traffic inspection messages of the PacketShaper products with its caching, optimization, and security messages. Prior to the Packeteer acquisition, while Blue Coat offered a solid secure gateway and caching story, the true level of traffic visibility and optimization it could provide was limited.

Interesting for IT Operations and Security Professionals, the two product lines remain separate, though branding will merge in the second half of 2009. This could create either a dilemma or an opportunity for Blue Coat in the current economy when companies are being forced to show faster ROI with less investment upfront. The PacketShaper/ProxySG product split means that an organization can adopt one element of the solution at a time, dialing up investment as need dictates. That said, we’d like to see a converged appliance, though the processing power such a box would require, not to mention OS rationalization across at least three product-based operating systems would be complex at best. We’ll have to see how it all plays out.

For Security and Risk Professionals, being able to create alliances with the IT OPS folks may allow exiting Blue Coat proxy customers expand their deployments beyond web content filtering and caching. The fact that the Mach 5 wan optimization features are built into ProxySG’s base OS means that both Security and OPS may be able to leverage the same hardware in these economic times. For companies just now looking at web proxy and wan op solutions, Blue Coat may have serendipitously timed the market just right.

We’re looking to the future to see whether Blue Coat moves more aggressively to offer virtual products aimed at networking infrastructure vendors that are looking to virtualize more services on fewer pieces of hardware – no word on this yet. Such a strategy, paired with a cloud-based offering, where companies can pay by the drink, especially for optimization services, would truly differentiate Blue Coat, who has seen its product line - already working to gain traction around the idea of an application delivery network, as a departure from pure WAN optimization, in the wake of other players in the market such as F5, Cisco and Citrix - gain competition from the recent Riverbed-Mazu acquisition.

By Chris Silva and John Kindervag

Check out Chris' research

Check out John's research

IT Compensation - No Slowdown Here

The Wall Street Journal reported yesterday that, while we continue to hear stories of layoffs, "consolidation", and dire financial straits IT pros are faring quite well. According to a study conducted by employment site Dice.com, IT pros saw an average salary increase of 4.6% last year over 2007. Whether that type of jump will occur throughout 2009 is up for debate and doubtful, it does seem that businesses are recognizing IT professionals for the work that they're doing to help bring efficiency and savings to the business. Good news for IT pros casting a wary eye on the road ahead in 2009.

I reported recently on the fact that spending in IT seems alive and well, based on research I conducted using data from our IT readership panel. Areas such as networking, virtualization, and consolidation are seeing budgets increase in 2009, all in an effort to continue the momentum of IT-drive bottom-line improvements.

So, the takeaway, IT is clearly one of the best places to weather this recession, as it's clear that business "gets" and is rewarding IT pros that can help save their businesses some cash, if not save them in full. So what should IT shops do that are concerned about staying on track?

• Don't shift investment focus. Key investment priorities cannot shift for I&O as a knee-jerk response to an economic downturn. Budgets and investment priorities should not shift in light of changing economic climates, in fact, doing so is likely to have negative effects.

• Look to efficiency technologies to extend gains. Your focus should be on technologies that bring efficiency to the business such as virtualization, consolidation of core networking, and creative solutions to extend the life of client-side assets.

• Communicate internal improvements that contribute to business efficiencies. As an IT leader, keeping front of mind the direct impact IT infrastructure and operations can have in helping to save the business and communicating this to members of the IT organization is a good way to allay fears of departmental staff reductions.

Keep and eye out for more detail on this theme in my upcoming research piece, "Making I&O Investments To Save The Business" publishing later this month. You can set up a research alert to be notified when it publishes.

[Ed. note] This post originally noted the Dice survey was conducted in partnership with the Wall Street Journal, which was incorrect. More information on the Dice Salary Survey can be found on the Dice site, here.

By Chris Silva

Check out Chris' research