Enterprise Mobility Space Needs Solutions Converge

Andrew Mitchell send me a email regarding "solutions converge on enterprise needs for mobility", he wrotes:
Probably the second most frequently heard “f” word in any discussion of enterprise mobility is FMC or fixed mobile convergence. And in terms of understanding, FMC ranks among the top entries in the “most often misunderstood mobility term” list, even in spite of being with the wireless industry for over 6 years now.

FMC has generally come to be understood as a technology that will deliver voice connectivity for a single service over a fixed or wireless network. Over time various proposed and practical implementations of FMC technology have emerged, largely falling into the category of either carrier based network solutions or appliance based customer premises solutions. Regardless of the technology employed the usual premise of FMC solutions is that they will bring value to an enterprise, either through reduced communications costs or by the improved productivity associated with an Anywhere employee.

Capitalizing on the growing enterprise interest in unified communications (UC) solutions, vendor Agito Networks offers an FMC solution that provides location awareness and presence features. The functionality of Agito’s RoamAnywhere product allows it to integrate into popular UC platforms such as Microsoft’s OCS or Cisco’s UCM for example. RoamAnywhere also provides support for a number of wireless LAN products from vendors such as Aruba, Cisco and Motorola. A number of wireless handsets and PDAs support the RoamAnywhere client. Agito’s product is just one example of a capable and compelling FMC product that addresses many of the UC needs of a mobile enteprise.

Initially viewed as a customer provided solution to a carrier’s coverage void in a macro wireless network, the third “f” word is femtocell. Femtocells are now receiving attention not only for the opportunities they create in the consumer market but also in the enterprise market. In an enterprise environment femtocells are well positioned to provide more than voice and UC solutions. The femtocell platform provides the ability to extend a broad suite of enterprise applications over 4G networks. Unlike its FMC counterpart, the femtocell is not a point solution for voice, UC or any specific enterprise application.

Yankee Group Senior Analyst Nathan Dyer has some cautions to offer enterprise femtocell vendors to avoid some of the pitfalls experienced by FMC vendors. In his paper “Femtos in the Enterprise Must Learn from FMC Mistakes”, Dyer advises that vendors should “not wed femtocells to mobile voice” and should instead “emphasize the mobile data and application story.” Dyer also points out a number of clear and present opportunities for femtocells to provide cost effective anywhere connectivity platforms for enterprise applications. He goes on to highlight the potential for integrated solutions in which FMC functionality is delivered through the femtocell platform and enterprise PBX environment.

In summary, FMC and femtocell technology has converged on the need for enterprise mobility. For success in this market FMC vendors should consider leveraging the power of femtocell platforms. Femtocell vendors will want to consider differentiation by positioning their products as enabling platforms for enterprise mobility.