The analyst, IDC, has named enterprise and mobile software firm Sybase as the leader in the mobile device management (MDM) enterprise software market for the 10th consecutive year, in its recent Worldwide Mobile Device Management Enterprise 2011 – 2015 Forecast and 2010 Vendor Shares report.
As defined by IDC, a mobile device management solution includes many of the standard features included in PC management solutions but also includes additional functionalities that address the unique needs of mobile and wireless users, mobile devices such as smartphones and media tablets, and increasingly other areas, such as M2M modules and printers.
Some of the key features of a mobile device management system are device provisioning; managing configuration settings; inventory/asset management; software distribution (applications, OS, firmware updates); remote wipe/lock; policy management; remote control for systems diagnostics; real-time device monitoring; location information, GPS breadcrumbing; and reporting and analytics. Increasingly, says Sybase, MDM solutions may also include application management, advanced security functionality, and real-time cost control capabilities. 
Sybase’s Afaria solutions enables enterprise IT to fully manage and secure a wide range of personal and corporate smartphones and tablets, including Android, iOS, Windows Mobile and more, in both hosted and behind the firewall environments. Additionally, says Sybase, Afarias over-the-air (OTA) delivery of in-house and publicly available apps, combined with on-device enterprise portal technology, ensures that only approved mobile users are granted access to internal applications and data.
“The arrival of the tablets, the uptick in smartphone use in the enterprise, along with the robust growth of mobile enterprise applications, have tremendously heightened the need for enterprises to secure and manage mobile devices and applications,” says Stacy Crook, senior analyst for mobile enterprise research at IDC. “Encouragingly, the available technologies and solutions out in the market can enable companies to address their specific enterprise mobility needs in a strategic and holistic way.”
