Sybase and Verizon are teaming up to enable multinational companies to manage the deployment and ongoing support of their growing mobile workforce. Verizon's new offering, Managed Mobility Solutions, utilizes Sybase's mobility services expertise and enterprise device management platform to help global businesses manage the complexities surrounding the increasing number of mobile information workers.
Business requires that organizations connect partners, suppliers, manufacturers, remote offices and remote employees directly to their systems, applications and information so they can improve customer service, bring products or services to market quicker, make better decisions and increase their organizations' overall productivity.
Managing multiple fixed and mobile operator contracts and communication costs, selecting mobile devices, network interoperability and device management and security are unwieldy for most enterprises. Because Sybase is a leader in device management software, together, Verizon believes, the two companies are well placed to minimize difficulties in this area for customers through the new service.
The new management service which is specifically targeted at large, multinational corporations, provides everything from expense management, logistics handling, through mobile device management, mobile security and application management, Rob Veitch, senior director of business development at Sybase iAnywhere, tells 5 Minute Briefing.
"Basically, everything you would do to manage all of the mobile devices in a workflorce today will be available from them for use with any carrier-that is the other interesting thing about this announcement. Although it is from Verizon, their intent is to provide this service to corporations in a carrier-independent way," Veitch explains.
"It is very exciting for us because after a very exhaustive look at potential vendors in the marketplace, lengthy trials and intense study, they chose us to support the mobile device management and security and application management components of their architecture."
The Mobile Device Management module is for delivering tools, applications and data to employees in a timely manner, and creating and enforcing flexible mobile policies across devices, groups or individual users; and the Mobile Security module is for enforcing access codes, establishing "lock/wipe" policies, encrypting devices and data cards, delivering firewall and antivirus applications, and supporting mobile access to corporate applications.
The Verizon partnership is representative of a growing trend for Sybase, notes Veitch. "We are dealing with a lot more of these very large partners who are interested in taking our stack and then adding their services to it, and then providing a mobility service out through to the marketplace. And that is a big extension because previously we were mostly dealing either with enterprises themselves or with channel partners who would very often resell our software for use in the enterprise. We are really seeing a growth and an extension of our business with these managed service providers."
Four of the Verizon Managed Mobility Solutions modules are targeted for a September 30 launch in the U.S. and 19 countries in Europe with a roll-out in the Asia-Pacific region slated for later this year. The fifth module, Application Management, is currently under development and is planned for launch in 2010. Verizon Managed Mobility Services will be available through Verizon Business and Verizon Wireless.