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Too Much Data, Too Little Time: The Pitfalls to Avoid When Rolling Out a Mobile Big Data Strategy

by Lee Johnson, Director of Global Marketing, NetMotion Software for Advisor-X

Most IT departments today, may not realize it, but they are flooded with mobile data. A wealth of information is available in corporate laptops, tablets and smartphones that can help a company make smarter business decisions and ensure a positive mobile experience for their employees.

There’s nothing more frustrating for workers, especially those that are mobile or remote, than being unable to connect to work applications. From connectivity information, network usage, possible security threats and breaches, IT can harness this business and operational intelligence data to guarantee that these potential issues are addressed and current problems are solved quickly.

However, as evident in a recent survey of 110 senior-level executives of global enterprises, nearly half indicated they cannot easily diagnose common mobile problems. The survey, commissioned by mobile performance management software company, NetMotion, also showed that roughly 40 percent of respondents struggled with hundreds of connectivity issues per month. With more than half of the companies in the WBR study planning to grow their mobile deployments, the problems that will impact those workers will only grow dramatically.

IT teams can use big data to drastically improve their mobile IT operations – if they’re aware of common pitfalls and make plans to avoid them. In particular, the following pitfalls shouldn’t stand in the way of optimal mobile deployment performance and security threat mitigation.

Pitfall #1: Choosing the wrong tool.

 

Business and operational intelligence tools were not built with mobile deployments in mind and that’s a problem. One of the reasons is these products are not able to collect detailed information from the network adapter or operating system which provides a wealth of data on device health, behavior and possible connectivity issues.

When looking for a BI visualization solution it’s important to ensure that the platform you select is optimized for mobile. If you are optimizing your company with mobile devices, shouldn’t you do the same for your IT operations tools? Look for solutions that offer detailed dashboards showing you information on networks, users, devices and applications inside and outside the corporate firewall. Another criteria is to ensure all mobile operating systems, such as Android, Mac OS, iOS and Windows, are fully supported. As your organization grows or mobile user needs change, having a solution that works on any operating system is vital for success.

Pitfall #2: Trying to “get by” with another department’s tool.

Some IT teams can get stuck in a holding pattern because a different department, such as Security, “owns” the company’s BI tool and controls when it can be used. This wastes valuable time as once the mobile team does get their hands on it, they will likely be disappointed for the reasons previously cited.

While, ideally, every team would get the tool that’s best suited for their tasks, in the real world, budgets are limited so teams are often expected to compromise. That’s why it’s important for the IT team to make sure buying decision makers know what capabilities they need to be successful.

Mobile IQ: A quick, effective way to leverage mobile data

Purpose-built mobile BI solutions offer an effective means for understanding connectivity challenges and mitigating security threats on mobile devices. One such solution is Mobile IQ from NetMotion. Mobile IQ provides a visual analysis on networks, users, devices and applications inside and outside the corporate firewall. Built on the Splunk® Enterprise platform, Mobile IQ allows IT pros to perform real-time analysis and receive alerts on mobile connectivity, security, performance, and behavior so that they can make faster, more informed decisions.

Available as both an on-premises solution or cloud-based, Mobile IQ is easy to implement and quickly begins collecting information from field devices. As enterprises continue to invest in mobility, adding more remote workers, new devices and business critical mobile applications, they need better solutions to ensure connectivity and protect their data. Most importantly, they need the right tools to automate the analysis of mobile data. Purpose-built mobile business and operations solutions are the best way to maximize performance and get the most value from their mobile deployments. [24×7]

About NetMotion Software
NetMotion Mobile Performance Management software delivers an unparalleled mobile user experience, and increases operational efficiency and end-user productivity. Thousands of enterprises around the world depend on the company’s solutions to deliver traffic optimization, adaptive policies, performance analytics and diagnostics, and security for their mobile workforces. NetMotion has received numerous awards for its technology and customer support. The company consistently receives an impressive customer satisfaction Net Promoter Score (NPS) of 91, significantly exceeding NPS averages in the technology and telecom industries. The company is headquartered in Seattle, Washington. Visit www.netmotionsoftware.com.