Mobile app virtualization eases deployment headaches for IT

Once again, I am going to write this week about something that was moved to the forefront of my mind on the way to pick my daughter up from class a week or so ago, but something that not only do I see daily, but we all see daily.

I was on my way back to campus last week to pick my daughter up after class and as I set at stoplight after stoplight, I kind of smiled to myself as I realized that every person crossing the street in front of me, walking down the sidewalk, practically every person, everywhere we go, has a cell phone in their hand, either texting, talking, listening to their music, or who knows what else.  Just to think, when I was that age, cell phones weren't even a thought we had.  We were still having conversations on phones attached to walls.  We were just moving into the cordless phones with the pull up antennas, remember those?

So with that thought, came the thought that it seems to me that it won't be long before desktop systems are left along the wayside.  I remember thinking I never wanted a laptop, I would stick with my desktop.  What a workhorse.  There was no way they could get all that in a laptop.  Well, I now don't know what I would do without a laptop.  The ability to sit in bed and do homework.  Oh, heaven must be something like this.  LOL!

So with the proliferation of mobile devices into our lives, it only makes sense that the next frontier for takeover, if not already taken over, is the work environment.

So far organizations seem to be handling it many ways.  There are organizations that distribute mobile devices to employees, there are organizations that are allowing employees to bring their own devices to work, and there are organizations that are combining these camps.

However, it is handled, it is imperative for organizations to jump on the mobile band wagon one way or another.  I ran across this article, Mobile app virtualization eases deployment headaches for IT, and thought it would prove for a good discussion.

There are three stages for successful mobile deployment according to this piece.  The firs stage is the delivery of existing apps to mobile devices in a virtualized manner.  This step is a necessary bridge technology due an organization's investments in Windows 7 and applications that have not been built for mobile environments. 

The second stage is to take existing applications and turn them into cross-platform mobile apps.  The third and final step is to decouple the data from the application and choose the appropriate application for the platform or devices being utilized.  When all these stages are completed, IT can then pipe the data from the data center directly into the application.

As we know, mobile devices have proliferated our society and it has also forced organizations to rethink their information systems.  While organizations do not have to make a total move to mobility, it is going to become a huge consideration for organizations as their employees increasingly demand the ability to become mobile.  Mobility has become a catalyst for change, not only at home, but also in business.

Furbush, J. (2012, October 24). SearchConsumerization. Retrieved from techtarget.com: http://searchconsumerization.techtarget.com/news/2240169175/Mobile-app-virtualization-eases-deployment-headaches-for-IT