Seth Weintraub recently posted over at Computerworld on the recent announcement of the Windows Phone 7 mobile phone operating system, and how unfriendly it shall be to the enterprise environment.
Apparently because it has Facebook and Twitter integration, and may not have a VPN client built in (but who really knows at this stage Seth?), this new generation Windows Mobile is going to cause IT directors the world over to start losing their hair.
The problems that CIOs are facing today far outweigh the fact that their constituents won’t be able to get into some non-standard .Net application or crappy old Sharepoint site. Windows Mobile use is severely on the downturn in the Enterprise or otherwise because employees are shunning them in favour of Nokia, Blackberry or iPhone mobiles. The IT departments’ choice of desktop or mobile platform that a user is given to access a resource is becoming increasingly irrelevant with Web 2.0 and cloud services.
Seriously Seth, who do you know plucks around on a current gen Windows Mobile device to VPN into their corporate network to access something? They simply don’t. They’ll hold out until they’re back at their laptop to do their work if they have to rely on something as counter-intuitive as Windows Mobile 6.5. I’ve seen colleagues and peers time and time again carry around Windows Mobile 6.5 devices and use them as nothing more than complex, clumsy cellphones. Hell, I’ld rather a $30 Nokia prepay to do that. (Actually, my work gave me an option of a crappy Nokia smartphone or a Nokia 3120 Classic; I chose the classic and bought an iPhone out of my own wallet)
Regardless of whether Windows Phone 7 has a VPN client in it, regardless of whatever SDK Microsoft release to enable application authors to port their specialist software over to Windows Phone 7, Seth, the users are going to vote with their fingers and it isn’t going to matter one iota if the IT department port their apps over or not.
I’m not saying they shouldn’t port their apps over by any means. What I’m saying is that they should be sensible about it. Use a Service Oriented Architecture. Make applications and data available, securely, without the need for VPN connectivity, without specific software running on specific platforms. Any device, anywhere, anytime. This is the future of networking and the future of smart mobility.
As for the Facebook and Twitter users of the world.. IT departments are starting to realise the power of peer support. My employer has set up a range of internal wikis and forums where people are encouraged to go to ask about their problems, whether they’re alpha/beta release software or an iPhone or Mac user needing assistance. And if it’s written into policy that Facebook and Twitter are not supported and are to be used only in an appropriate manner then it’s up to the users to support each other.
