The Mobile Operating System Wars Escalate

The smartphone landscape has evolved dramatically over the past 12 months. BlackBerry's relentless assault, the iPhone's maturation of management features, and Android's device and carrier proliferation drive the evolution. This shift has had a profound effect on enterprise IT road maps. The days are numbered for limiting support to a single mobile operating system and not enabling workers with email and business resources on individually liable smartphones. Empowered workers are driving IT to support more mobile operating systems, but not all devices should be added to the "supported" list. Forrester recommends that over the next 12 months I&O execs prioritize their efforts on three mobile operating systems: 1) BlackBerry; 2) iOS; and 3) Android. But over the long term, I&O teams should: 1) revisit their mobile policies annually; 2) invest in tools or services to keep their corporate data secure, employees productive and happy, and costs down; and 3) where appropriate selectively embrace the consumerization of IT.