True Cloud Must-Have Attributes

Vendors that “host” their existing on-premises solutions and label it SaaS or cloud can’t offer the true economic and technical advantages because too many resources are used maintaining multiple versions of their solution.  Unfortunately, the misuse of the terms “SaaS” and “cloud” are creating confusion because vendors make the business model the focus, rather than the underlying technology used to deliver the service.  With the mobile device management space moving as quickly as it is today, it is essential to take the time to assess cloud solutions in terms of the following set of core attributes that define cloud-based services for mobility.

Multi-tenancy

• On-demand access to the solution is provided instantly from the Internet
• Vendor delivers mobility capabilities to all customers from a single instance of their platform
• Strong security walls are established to isolate users
• Vendors make continual enhancements and all users have immediate access to the latest features

On-premises and imposter “SaaS” solutions could require time consuming installations and risky updates and upgrades on a monthly basis.

Integration

• Robust APIs and integration options
• Quickly and easily fits alongside  your existing infrastructure
• Seamlessly extends your enterprise capabilities to a mobile environment

Hosted or on-premises solutions may necessitate  an “inline” type of integration to your mail environment systems and open ports that expose your existing enterprise infrastructure.

Security and compliance

• Provides granular visibility, along with the ability to manage, secure, and control devices and apps
• No personal, private, or company confidential information is stored in the cloud; it remains in existing corporate systems and mobile devices
• All information should be transmitted over SSL3.0/TLS1.0 with certificated from DigiCert using FIPS140-2 compliant encryption modules.
• Vendors should be able to provide a SOC-2 Type II and FISMA certification, which assesses the operational effectiveness of internal controls within service organizations

With many hosted solutions, a major risk of data compromise exists; make sure the vendor understand your concerns about the security, confidentiality, integrity and availability of your information.

Manageability

• Provides the fastest way to gain secure mobile control without any on-premises hardware to install and manage
• Workflows and best practices are automatically applied
• Easily configured to adapt to the needs of individual customers
• Users are always on the latest version of the product without any additional costs or downtime interrupting your operations
• Service Level Agreements guarantee uptime, backup, and disaster recovery for high availability and mobile business continuity

And with the growing diversity of mobile devices, having one system to secure all smartphones, tablets, and laptops with centralized policy management across multiple platforms delivers greater IT operational efficiencies.

Scalability

• Eliminates any barriers preventing the addition of mobile devices, while allowing quick scaling as mobile device requirements change
• Same platform scales downward for small groups, without any minimum commitments, and upward to meet the needs of the largest global enterprises
• Devices and users can be added as needed, when needed, without installing new appliance or databases
• Allows customers to pay for only what is actually used

Traditional hosting and on-premises deployment environments are not designed to easily support elastic scalability or rapid growth in user adoption.

Vendor Viability

• Has a reliable reputation with existing customers and financial strength
• Has been offering true cloud for mobility for several years, and the expertise and best practices that accompany such experience
• IT and operations teams are substantial, established and can provide 24x7 support
• If a vendor claims to offer SaaS, hosted applications and on-premises options, can they really afford to offer true cloud benefits while managing all delivery methods and underlying technology infrastructure?

If a vendor touts SaaS delivery, but still does all maintenance and operations to your infrastructure manually, it can create errors, downtime and increased operational risk for you.