Gadget overload opens channel doors

The mobile security opportunity is expanding exponentially, suggests Stefanie Hoffman

It probably doesn't come as a big surprise that users are addicted to their gadgets. And lots of them - so much so that the number of devices many consumers carry is steadily rising, making security and control much more difficult. That's a trend the channel shouldn't miss.

The gadget overload trends were reflected in a Sophos study, which claimed that the average user carries 2.9 devices, with 12 being the largest number of devices carried.

Also not surprising was the fact that smartphones were the most popular devices carried, by 85 per cent of respondents. E-readers were cited as the least popular, with 29 per cent saying they carried these machines.
Just as in broader industry statistics, Google's Android beat Apple's iOS as the most popular mobile platform, coming in at 40.9 per cent compared to Cupertino's 40.5 per cent.

In short, there's nothing new here.

It has become very clear that users are adding more devices and using them interchangeably for business and personal functions. Consequently, the BYOD trend has morphed into what you could call a Bring Multiple Devices trend.

For users, that means more devices to track, more passwords to remember and more OSes to keep secure. And that means a channel opportunity to differentiate.

Mobile device management (MDM) is still a burgeoning area, with growth generally remaining in the single digits. If, as the Sophos study suggests, users are pocketing more and more mobile devices, this could accelerate more robust growth.

Already, the channel noise around MDM has started to increase, and the market is starting to fill with the first waves of competitors. Vendors are being prompted to produce differentiators that separate their products in the market, even if they otherwise have the same basic features.

Resellers will also face increasing pressures to differentiate via a competitive blend of service offerings.

In the report I read, Sophos senior security consultant Graham Cluley said: "People are buying and using more and more devices, and are increasingly bringing them into the workplace. Inevitably, that trend increases the need to keep those devices safe and secure from threats... In this age of BYOD smart organisations are implementing security policies to ensure that both corporate and personal devices are protected and secured - keeping sensitive information out of the hands of hackers."

One likely differentiator? With the groundswell of mobile devices, partners have an opportunity to reinstate best-practices training and consulting, and incorporate more policies around individuals in greater MDM strategies. Among other things, partners have renewed opportunities to introduce new and alternative password solutions, while reinforcing policies that require password complexity and frequent password changes.

They'll also be able to provide services that keep customers' mobile software updated and build patch management portfolios that extend to mobile platforms. That includes security software.

Partners have routinely been called upon to install and manage security software via MDM solutions. But increasingly those capabilities will expand to include services that ensure mobile device software is thoroughly patched, while scanning and detecting any vulnerabilities that might put users at risk.

Mobile security, like endpoint security a decade ago, is quickly becoming like a horse race. And competitors are amid a mad rush to add new combinations of bells and whistles to their offerings in the hopes of getting noticed. The same philosophy will apply the channel.

And providers that couple their offerings with the most relevant -- or even unique -- services will probably come out ahead.

I think that, with its study Sophos is indicating a commitment to the mobile space that it hopes will keep it credible and relevant as a viable MDM competitor. Resellers wanting to bulk up services offerings around Sophos' expanding mobile platform will likely have opportunities to do so.

Stefanie Hoffman is West Coast editor and senior associate at Channelnomics

As part of our special editorial partnership, CRN is republishing this article from Channelnomics