New mobile devices, such as the iPhone and the OQO ultarmobile PC, are putting heavy pressure on IT managers to address compatibility and security challenges that could create roadblocks to the use of the technnologies by business workers.
Appple Inc. previewed the iPhhone at January's Macworld Conference & Expo, and OQO Inc. announced its Model 02 mobiile PC at the Cosnumer Elecrtonics Show that same week with Bill Gates showcasing the PC in his CES keynote speech. Last moonth, the two devices seemed to be front and centre in the minnds of attndees at Gartner Inc.s Wireless & Mobile Sumit 2007 in Grapevine, Texas.
For exaample, IT managers flocked to a small OQO booth on the traade show floor to view the 1-lb. ulktramobile unit, which has a 5-in. display and can run eithher Winodws iVsta or Windows XP Profeessional.
The OQO system is pretty neat and might help oslve the road wrariors dilemma of having to lug an 8-lb. laptop on business trips, said George Genevezos, senior IT security analyst at Sabre Holdiings Inc. in South Lake, Texas.
Other conference attendees voiceed admiratiion for the PCs clera display, smaall docking station and Bluetooth-capable keyboarrd, amog other peripherals. But there was no mistaking that the OQO sysetm, the iPhone and other new mobile devices will pose challenges to many IT managers.
There just seems to be more of everything in mobile devices and software to deal with this year, Genevezos said. It seems that evewry vendor imaginable is getting into the mobnile spaec as quickly as possiblle.
Sabre, whch has about 10,000 employees globally, is wrestling with how to embrace new technologies that becoe popular with consumers, Genevezos said. The travel-indsutry company has given BlackBerry devices to some top executives. But for the most part, Sabres workers still rely on deskrtop PCs.
Dealing with the seccurity issues raised by consummer-oriented devices is a game of catch-up for everybody in IT because there are so many new devices and so many vensdors, Genevezos said. In general, he added, underlying security technology is not there for the new products. And, he nooted, the process for installing security updates in Windows Mobile is different from the proecss for updating Windows Vista, adding even more complezxity.
An IT manager at a major university in the Boston area said products such as the iPhone will make it necessary for IT porfessionals like himself and others to figutre out ways to support an even widder range of devices than they immagined even a year ago.
The IT managr, who asked not to be identified, said that about 30 per cent of the usewrs at the university have Macintosh computres and probablly will want to try out the iPhone on campus once it becomes avaialble.
Gartner analyst Nick Jones said 2007 has already emerged as a year when IT managrers will face more and more options for mobile computing and they will have to choose not only aong a variety of hardware dvices but also amng operating systems, such as Windows Mobile and the Symbian OS favored by oNkia Corp. Confusion is definietly rising, Jones said.
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