New Study Reveals Mobile Device Management is a Top Priority for IT Leaders in Education

March 16, 2011

Tools

Mobility and Consumerization of IT Trends Driving Need to Revisit Mobile Device Management and Security Investments

BLUE BELL, Pa.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Fiberlink^®, the leader in mobile device management and creator of cloud-based Mobility-as-a-Service (MaaS) solutions, today announced the availability of an independent study titled “Building an Effective Mobile Device Management Strategy for Education.” The study, a commissioned technology adoption profile conducted by Forrester Consulting on behalf of MaaS360 by Fiberlink, provides findings on the top needs of IT leaders in the education industry, a sector that has historically lagged in enforcing mobile management and security controls.

Leveraging its Forrsights Security Survey and a commissioned survey on behalf of Fiberlink, Forrester found that the number of smartphones, tablets and other new devices has already eclipsed traditional PC devices at educational institutions. Personally-owned devices have become commonplace on campuses. In the February 2011 study, Forrester Consulting stated, “IT managers no longer have the authority to veto the use of mobile devices or limit use to a specific brand or operating system. As a result, Forrester recently found that more than 80% of IT decision-makers within the education industry have already implemented or are planning on implementing mobile device management solutions that can scale across all devices, regardless of who actually owns the hardware.”

The commissioned technology adoption profile found that an increasing number of schools are phasing out printed textbooks altogether and providing access to school-owned tablets and notebooks. And with sensitive student, medical and financial information on these mobile devices, educational institutions are at risk of costly data security breaches. To address this issue, the study reported that, “95 percent of security decision-makers in education reported data security as a top priority in the next 12 months.”

Despite the fact that higher educational institutions are required to comply with PCI DSS security standards for electronic payments, the industry is well behind others in enforcement on mobile devices. Forrester added, “On top of these challenges, three out of every four IT decision-makers reported that they have to invest 20 or more hours every week on supporting mobile devices.” Such tasks can be more efficiently accomplished with a mobile device management platform. The study concludes by noting, “As a result, schools are increasingly turning to cloud-hosted mobility-as-a-service solutions that are quicker to deploy and that deliver on key functionality, including strong password policies, full disk encryption, remote lock/wipe, asset and activity visibility and management, and application control, across all types of mobile devices including laptops, smartphones, netbooks, and slates and tablets.”

The full commissioned technology adoption profile “Building an Effective Mobile Device Management Strategy for Education” can be downloaded here www.maas360.com/education.

About Fiberlink

Fiberlink^®, the leader in mobile device management is the creator and developer of cloud-based Mobility as a Service (MaaS) solutions. The company’s MaaS360 platform enables IT to manage laptops, desktops and smartphones, such as the Android and iPhone, as well as tablet devices such as the iPad, in one window, one system. The company’s MaaS360 mobility infrastructure and subscription services have revolutionized how enterprises and business users share and secure information over the Internet. The MaaS360 platform ensures reliable, secure and compliant mobile working for employees, while delivering unprecedented Mobility Intelligence™ to senior management and IT operations. MaaS360 is a recognized leader in mobile device management, helping both Global 2000 companies and smaller businesses cost-effectively support expanding mobile workforces and use mobile devices to remain competitive in today's economy. Additional information about MaaS360 is available at http://www.maas360.com.