Taking the Wheel – Mobility and Your Partners

[Randy_Cochran]

Like every business, our partners are continually searching for new ways to improve their brand, increase revenue and win the respect and appreciation of their customers. At Partner Engage in October, my recommendation to you, our partners, was to achieve added success by stepping out of your comfort zone to find new angles and methods of specialization to provide quality products and services for your customers. This still holds true, and will not only enable you to drive additional revenue, but will also show your customers that you are not a stagnant enterprise.

So what can you do to continue to step out of your comfort zone? My suggestion is to offer mobile solutions on top of the existing endpoint management solutions you offer to your customers.

As we all know very well, mobile adoption isn’t without risks. In fact, the survey Symantec released today on the state of mobility found that approximately three out of four organizations indicated maintaining a high level of security is a top business priority for mobility, while 41 percent identify mobile devices as one of the top three IT risks.

Many organizations are moving toward using mobile applications and solutions in order to maintain control of the security of their data. As mobile devices (both smartphones and tablet devices) have become more popular, partners are seeing their customers using them for work purposes, whether or not they have company permission. This can create major headaches for IT professionals, and partners need to prepare their customers for the fact that their employees will use mobile devices for business one way or the other –so they should make it on their own terms.

How mobile devices will be used is a legitimate concern, but at the same time can be the perfect opportunity to start mobile security discussions with your customers. Our mobile solution offerings can help you address all of your customers’concerns. Symantec’s mobile enablement and protection solutions offer mobile security, information protection, mobile authentication and network protection.

Along with the ability to better manage employee mobile devices, many partners have found implementing mobile solutions for their customers enables greater productivity. In fact, for the smartphones and tablets currently in use, 70 percent of respondents to our survey expected to see increased employee productivity thanks to the devices, and 77 percent actually saw productivity gains after implementation. This higher productivity will allow your customers to build a better brand.

During my time at Symantec, I’ve seen a lot of changes in the security arena. And from my experience, I can say with confidence that the growth and popularity of mobile devices in enterprises will not only continue to expand, but will continue to change the way companies conduct business and interact with customers. So partners, don’t be left behind. Step out of your comfort zone and discover how mobile solutions can help your customers today and into the future.