Safeguarding in a Mobile Digital World

- Aferdita Muriqi, founder and CEO of ADEV (www.adev.us ; www.conxfer.com), says:

In the digital world today, safeguarding ones privacy and enabling and streamlining secure information on a trusted mobile network is the key to social society.

I founded ADEV Inc, which operates ADEV LAB & STUDIO (@adevLab). I, along with my team, have developed the new app, ConXFer.

We have all struggled with the unsecured and invasive slow process of a mobile rep taking our phone and waiting longer than we like for our contacts to be transferred from one device to another. What are they doing with our devices? Is the information stored in the device secure? ConXfer is a patent pending wireless, mobile to mobile secure contacts transfer application. It simplifies the process of securely transferring a user’s contacts and mobile business cards from one device to another using Wi-Fi or Bluetooth.

ADEV Inc. is a mobile application development company. ADEV LAB & STUDIO designs and develops custom mobile products, mobile websites, SEO product landing pages and blog sites to drive branding and awareness. Our services range from initial concept, design, development, testing, product delivery and video production focused on innovative mobile applications and promotional solutions. 

We at AEDV have the capability to not only build our own apps, but can build an app for commercial or individual development use through a licensing model of encryption and coding.  Aspects of the code can be integrated into other apps so businesses or individuals can customize existing apps by using a licensing technology from our own apps in order to bolster our global initiative to manage content on a trusted mobile network for secure content exchange.

I strongly believe in the huge growth in the mobile app sector and users who interact via a mobile device need to be in full control of their own information. At ADEV Inc. we believe the user’s information must remain safe at all times.

About ADEV Inc.

ADEV Inc. is a mobile application development company. ADEV LAB & STUDIO designs and develops custom mobile products, mobile websites, SEO product landing pages and blog sites to drive branding and awareness. ADEV LAB & STUDIO services range from initial concept, design, development, testing, product delivery and video production focused on innovative mobile applications and promotional solutions.  The company recently developed its newest app, ConXfer.

Web: www.adev.us

           www.conxfer.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/adevinc

                      www.facebook.com/conxfer

Mobile versus Mobile: 867-5309

- Lori MacVittie, senior technical marketing manager at F5 Networks (www.f5.com), says:

The focus on the explosion of mobile devices is heavily weighted toward IT in terms of management and security. While there’s nothing wrong with it, there’s another aspect of mobility that is often ignored. Much like their tethered counterparts, many mobile devices are constrained by a tight-coupling to numbers. In the case of the desktop it’s often IP address. In the mobile word, it’s another number: your phone number.

I love my tablet, I really do. And I love mobile applications. But what I don’t love is mobile applications that, while perfectly able to run on my tablet and written for the same OS that powers many smart phone mobile devices, require tethering to a phone number.
Because, Hello? McFly!?! It doesn’t have a phone number!

NUMBER-BASED IDENTITY
We’re going to skip the Prisoner analogy and just assume it was made, okay? While it’s always applicable to discussions this, it gets a bit tedious and cliché after a while and so let’s just assume that tethering identity to a number of any kind is a Very Bad IdeaTM, m’kay? In the tethered world this is because such numbers are – especially today – highly volatile. You can’t count on even an application instance having the same IP address from one minute to the next let alone a user who may be roaming around the world. And in the mobile world, it’s even less of a sure bet as mobile devices of all kinds are moving between WiFi and mobile network faster than a four-year old tears open a Christmas present.

We (as in IT) simply cannot enforce corporate security and serve the access needs of a highly nomadic user community if we’re constrained to doing so based on a single number – whether it be IP address or phone number. We’ve got to leverage as much information as possible about the user – their network, the device, their location, the security posture of the end-point. We’ve got to take into consider the context of each and every request and use that data as the basis for allowing or denying (or at least limiting) access to corporate resources.

Mobile applications requiring phone-number do so as a means to secure access to resources. It is a failure of Epic Proportions because it tends to engender a false sense of security on the IT side, based on the premise that phone number is unique to an individual and highly static, which is not always the case. It is a failure of Epic Proportions because it stratifies a much larger technological market into “haves” and “have nots” based on whether a single identifying characteristic is present: a number.

Such strategies are further a Very Bad IdeaTM because of the impact on policy management and security and development. Applications relying on numbers for identity work only on devices that have such numbers; for the rest of the market (which is growing by leaps and bounds as more and more consumer devices are Internet-enabled) there must exist a separate but equal application. Developers time is already strapped, and maintaining two (in some cases three when the web is considered separately from mobile devices) discrete applications is madness, I say, madness. The pressure on IT to secure, manage, and support multiple versions of the same application were supposed to go the way of the Dodo with the advent of REST and the ascendancy of the API.
And yet here were are, managing and securing and developing applications tied to numbers.

MOBILE-MEDIATION
You may recognize this one from a previous post, “Mobile versus Mobile: An Identity Crisis”, and it’s no less applicable to this problem than it was to the problem of mobile clients and OS or platform-based identification. Whether it’s OS, platform, or IP address/phone number, no single characteristic of a user’s request is enough information upon which to base any kind of decision.

Period.

No single piece of information gives IT the context in which security and delivery decisions can be accurately made. Without the big picture, without the context, it is nigh-unto impossible to ascertain which decision should be made with respect to the request. It is only by taking advantage of context that we can make decisions that are not only best for the organization and preserve a positive security posture, but that are also best for the user in terms of experience and performance.

It is only at strategic points of control in the network, such as the application delivery tier, that all the variables on both sides of the equation – user and data center – are visible. It is at this tier where the rubber meets the road, as they say, and the two worlds of consumer and corporate meet. It is here where security and performance and access policies are most efficiently applied, where all the requisite variables that make up the context of the request can be extracted, evaluated, and acted upon.

It is paramount to both end-user adoption and a positive corporate operational posture that such strategic points of control are leveraged. It is only context that provides insight into the “bigger picture” and ensures a smooth and secure experience for end-users that simultaneously preserves the security and availability of the applications and resources being delivered.
Mobile users are not a number, nor are their tethered counterparts. They are users, with unique characteristics that are increasingly not only varied but volatile. Such variables must be evaluated contextually for every request to ensure the best possible experience without compromising operational or business expectations and requirements.

IP Documents on the Go – Enabling Access with New App for the iPhone and the iPad

- James P. Bergeron, CEO at First To File (www.firsttofile.com), says:

Whether for business or pleasure, the iPhone and iPad have become two main staples in our technology diet. The apps associated with these products have simplified our lives and changed the way we do business. As smartphones and tablets are increasingly becoming the defector mobile office for managing emails, voice communications, IMs and video, we in the legal technology profession must innovate our products to keep pace with these novel ways in which people are communicating and receiving their information.

Responding to this paradigm shift, First To File®, has developed an iPhone/iPad app for the First To File Electronic File Room (EFR) that allows users full mobile access to their First To File documents. Having seen a proliferation of iPhones and iPads within our customer base, and in anticipation of rapid market change occurring in the legal industry, it became paramount to make First To File available on-the-go, and the iOS platform was the logical first choice.

With the iPhone/iPad app, legal professionals can now collaborate and review key documents on the road. The ability to access documents off-site enables a quicker turnaround and increased efficiency, so that our law firm customers can serve clients better and inside counsel users can access critical information on demand-when they need it most.

The powerful and fast mobile access is both intuitive and easy to use with an interface that is built specifically for the iOS. By accessing information on-the-go, users can realize substantial improvements in productivity and customer service, as well as enhanced collaboration with clients and colleagues by enabling anytime/anywhere document retrieval and review. Round-the-clock access to documents, case details, and document metadata is secure with no limit to the iPhone-compatible document types that are able to be accessed. First To File also anticipates releasing a version for Android later this year.

For more information on the First To File iPhone/iPad app, please visit http://www.firsttofile.com/?page_id=718w.

About the Author
James P. Bergeron, is the CEO of First to File, the leading provider of secure IP management services to corporations and law firms. He is a frequent speaker and writer on topics related to IP data management. Email him at jbergeron@firsttofile.com.

Mobility in Business Today: Smartphones Need Smart Management

- Jon Kuhn, director of product management, enterprise mobility group, Symantec (www.symantec.com), says:

The impact mobile devices have had on the way we do business and the way we live our lives is nothing short of revolutionary. It is quickly approaching parity with the impact of other significant technological innovations, such as the personal computer and the Internet. Just take a glance around in any public place and you’re bound to see someone on a mobile device of some kind. People are able to connect in more ways than we could ever conceive of.

It’s no surprise that businesses are beginning to take advantage of this connectivity in an effort to increase productivity and improve customer service. The mobile workforce is growing every year, and increasingly powerful devices such as tablets and smartphones mean that employees are always accessible and able to get things done in a matter of minutes or even seconds.

However, mobility presents organizations with a unique set of risks and benefits. In order to determine just how companies are dealing with mobility, Symantec commissioned a study of more than 6,000 businesses of all sizes. While the results show that mobile adoption is high, the increased productivity doesn’t come without costs. First, mobile devices have been fully accepted as mainstream business tools. More than half of businesses are allowing employees to access line-of-business applications on their mobile devices. Moreover, nearly three-quarters are actually considering implementing a corporate “store” for employees to download officially approved applications.

Along with the productivity, however, mobility is affecting IT in other ways. It’s requiring significant resources to manage properly – nearly one-third of IT staff is involved in mobility, and nearly half of businesses report that it is “somewhat to extremely challenging.” Overall, organizations classify mobility as the IT initiative with the greatest risk, given such dangers as spam, phishing and malware. In particular, they are worried about data leakage, losing devices and unauthorized individuals gaining access to their resources.

These concerns are justified, considering what mobile-related security incidents are costing businesses. They are seeing loss of customer trust, brand damage, theft of data and direct financial loss. Overall, enterprises report losses of $429,000 in the past 12 months; for small businesses, this number drops to $126,000, making the overall average $247,000.
Despite the challenges, however, organizations are not looking back. Nearly three-quarters believe that they at least break even in terms of the risk compared to benefits.

Recommendations
In order to successfully deal with the risks and more fully realize the benefits of mobility, Symantec has developed the following recommendations:

• Enable broadly: Develop a comprehensive plan to take maximum advantage of mobility, and take a logical, phased approach to integration. It will be nearly impossible to completely prevent employees from using mobile devices for business, but by being proactive you can exercise control over how that happens.
• Think strategically: Consider your end goals in mobile device use and plan accordingly. Ensure that confidential information will be secure regardless of where it is stored.
• Manage efficiently: Treat mobile devices like any other endpoint. They need to be effectively managed from provisioning through device retirement, to keep data secure. Integrate mobile devices into your IT policies.
• Enforce appropriately: Develop use policies managing employee behavior, implementing the proper controls based on each user’s needs. Give them the tools they need to work efficiently, while minimizing the potential for problems.
• Secure comprehensively: Basic controls such as passwords aren’t enough. Supplement traditional practices with mobile-specific security solutions such as encryption and data loss prevention tools to maintain a consistent level of security and ensure regulatory compliance.

Changemark Viewer Provides Key Features for Modern Workers

- Gary Heath, CEO, Informative Graphics Corporation (www.infograph.com), says:

In the digital age, the need to stay connected to our workplace has increased substantially. The introduction of easy-to-carry smartphones and tablets, coupled with the rise of Wi-Fi in every coffee shop, airport and hotel, has made us around-the-clock workers who expect access to needed documents, media, and information at all times. New technology and increased connection speeds have also made a broader spectrum of data types, adding video.

In response to the needs of this new plugged-in generation, IGC has focused on creating products that match the kind of content users need and give them the ability to do work that used to require a full workstation and full access to the file system and/or ECM system. To that end, the new Brava suite includes the Brava!® Changemark® Viewer for smartphones and video support for the Brava Enterprise Flash client.

The Brava Changemark Viewer, available in an HTML version for all smartphones and as an app for the iPhone, allows workers to quickly view and reply to comments and even see a zoomed view of the document area in question. This allows traditional, in-office workers to communicate effectively with a team member who is travelling, helping to eliminate long gaps in the review and approval cycle. Future releases of Brava will bring more robust functionality for tablets, where the larger screen-size makes more traditional view and markup tasks more realistic than the standard 3- to 4-inch phone screen.

As the use of video for marketing, training and other business communication has risen sharply, IGC saw the need to add video support to Brava. The latest Brava Enterprise enables annotation and collaboration on video clips in the latest cut of the Flash client, allowing corporate users to add comments and markups to any video clip. The Brava Flash client supports any video format playable by the Flash Player, including H.264, a popular mpeg format.

Technology will continue to evolve, especially around new media like video and touch-enabled devices. IGC will continue to offer the best viewing and collaboration software for the enterprise, delivering efficient, secure access to needed content no matter where you are.

About the Author
Gary Heath, CEO and Co-Founder of IGC, has more than 20 years of experience in developing enterprise applications. Incorporated in 1990, IGC is a leading developer of viewing, annotation, and redaction software. Since IGC’s inception, Gary’s leadership and innovation have been key drivers of the company’s growth. Under that leadership, IGC pioneered the concept of simple document security with its Visual Rights technology and introduced Redact-It, a software solution which removes privacy and sensitive content from documents. Email him at garyh@infograph.com.

The Mobile Chimera

- Lori MacVittie, Senior Technical Marketing Manager at F5 Networks (www.f5.com), says:

The chimera is a mythological beast of scary proportions. Not only is it fairly large, but it’s also got three, independent heads – traditionally a lion, a goat, and a snake. Some variations on this theme exist, but the basic principle remains: it’s a three-headed, angry beast that should not be taken lightly should one encounter it in the hallway.

Individually, one might have a strategy to meet the challenge of a lion or a goat head on. But when they converge into one very angry and dangerous beast, the strategies and tactics employed to best any one of them will almost certainly not work to address all three of them simultaneously.

The world of mobility is rapidly approaching its own technological chimera, one comprised of three individual technology trends. While successful stratagem and tactics exist which address each one individually, when taken together they form a new challenge requiring a new strategic approach.

THE MOBILE CHIMERA
Three technology trends - VDI, mobile, and IPv6 - are rapidly converging upon the enterprise. Each is driven in part by the other, and each requires in part functionality and support of another. Addressing the challenges accompanying this trifecta requires a serious evaluation of the enterprise infrastructure with an eye toward performance, scalability, and flexibility, less it be overwhelmed by demand originating both internally and externally.

Mobile
The myriad articles, blogs, and editorial orations on mobile device growth have to date focused on the need for organizations to step up and accept the need for device-ready enterprise applications. This focus has thus far ignored the reality of the diversity of the device client base, the ramifications of which those with long careers in IT will painfully recall from the client-server era. Thus it is no surprise that interest in and adoption of technology such as VDI is on the rise, as virtualization serves as a popular solution to the problem of delivering applications to a highly-diverse set of clients.

But virtualization, as popular a solution as it may be, is not a panacea. Security and control over corporate resources and applications is a growing necessity today because of the ease with which users can take advantage of mobile technology to access them.

Access control does not entirely solve the challenges of a diverse mobile client audience, as attackers turn their attention on mobile platforms as a means to gain access to resources and data previously beyond their reach. The need for endpoint security inspection continues to grow as the threat posed by mobile devices continues to rear its ugly head.

VDI
It was inevitable that the growth of mobile device usage in the enterprise continued to grow that so, too, would the solution of VDI grow as the most efficient way to deliver applications without requiring mobile platform-specific versions. The desire by business owners and security practitioners to keep data securely within the data center "walls", too, is a factor in the rising desire to deploy VDI. VDI enables organizations to deliver applications remotely while maintaining control over data inside the data center, preserving enforcement of corporate security policies and minimizing risk.

But VDI deployments are not trivial, regardless of the virtualization platform chosen. Each virtualization solution has its challenges and most of those challenges revolve around the infrastructure necessary to support such an initiative. Scalability and flexibility are important facets of VDI delivery infrastructure, and performance cannot be overlooked if such deployments are to be considered successful.

IPv6
Who could forget that the Internet is being pressured to move to IPv6 sooner rather than later, in part because of the growth of mobile clients? The strain placed on service providers to maintain IPv4 support as a means to not "break the Internet" can only be borne so long before IPv6 becomes, as has been predicted, the Y2K for the network.

The ability to deliver applications via VDI to mobile devices will soon require support for IPv6, but will not obviate the need to support IPv4 just yet. A dual stack approach will be required during the transition period, putting delivery infrastructure again front and center in the battle to deploy and support applications for mobile devices.

With all accounts numbering mobile devices in the four billion range across multiple platforms and effectively 0 IPv4 addresses left to assign to those devices, it should be no surprise that as these three technology trends collide the result will be the need for a new mobility strategy.

This is why solutions are strategic and technology is tactical. There exist individual products that easily solve each of these problems individually, but very few solutions that address the combined juggernaut that is the three combined. It is necessary to coordinate and architect a solution that can solve all three challenges simultaneously as a means to combat complexity and its associated best friend forever, operational risk.
A flexible and scalable delivery strategy will be necessary to ensure performance and security without sacrificing operational efficiency.

5 Factors to Consider When Developing Enclosure Solutions for Mobile Applications

- Eric Ziemer, design engineering technician at Crenlo (http://www.crenlo.com/), says:

In the aftermath of a bank robbery, a local TV news station provides live coverage by rushing a broadcast truck to the scene. Meanwhile, three states away, law-enforcement officials activate their mobile command center to re-establish communications and stability following a natural disaster.

Down South, an oil-field worker monitors productivity from a van outfitted with test-and-measurement instruments. Off the coast, a ship captain navigates volatile waters with the aid of state-of-the-art radar equipment.
Protecting vital electronic equipment in a static — or immobile — environment is a chal
lenge, but set that equipment in motion and the degree of difficulty rises exponentially. Enclosure solutions for mobile applications like those described require some special layout and design considerations not necessary with stationary operations.

There are many factors that decision-makers should examine when planning enclosure solutions for mobile applications in fields such as broadcast, security, test and measurement and datacom/telecom. Some of the most critical factors include:

1. Project footprint
2. Weight load/center of gravity
3. Cabling
4. Shock and vibration
5. Environment

Neglecting to carefully consider these five elements in the design process could have serious repercussions, including an unsafe work environment, productivity losses and increased costs. Let’s explore these five factors and detail how they contribute to effective electronics protection in dynamic applications.

Bear in mind that every application is different and design requirements may vary greatly. Most standards and regulations associated with each factor are specific to electronic equipment and industry and will demand appropriate testing.

PROJECT FOOTPRINT
When sizing electronics protection for a mobile environment, bigger is simply better.

Examine floor-space and height constraints and maximize the footprint of the project. A larger footprint provides an enclosure or group of ganged enclosures with a stouter stance that helps minimize swaying and the likelihood of tipping.

While determining the largest possible project dimensions, however, do not overlook mounting, cable routing and access needs that could impact the size and location of the footprint.

Enclosures protecting equipment in a dynamic state need additional stability and should be mounted to structural members — not merely tied down to a surface that could tear, such as sheet metal. The need to secure enclosures to structural members could affect exactly how large and where the footprint can be configured.

Throughout the planning process, ensure that there is adequate space above, beneath and around the enclosure to route, connect and access cables, service equipment without inflicting damage and provide shock-and-vibration attenuation. Make certain that swinging panels and doors do not collide with each other, obstruct aisles or impede efficient maintenance.

Sometimes an entryway is not large enough to permit passage of a fully assembled enclosure to the project site. (Envision attempting to transport a cabinet through a submarine hatch.) Meet such a challenge by selecting a bolt-together enclosure that can be efficiently assembled inside the vehicle and still withstand all the environmental forces encountered in the application.

WEIGHT LOAD/CENTER OF GRAVITY
Enclosure weight-load capacities are usually determined in a static environment, so it is important to consider that a dynamic load exerts more force on a cabinet than a stationary load. Prioritize frame-channel construction and weld-joint design when seeking an enclosure, but take into account the vehicle’s weight capacity and restrictions when mulling cabinet strength and weight options.

When it comes to loading an enclosure for a mobile application, the question is: How low can you go?

Not a primary concern in a static environment, the center of gravity is a major factor in designing for a dynamic application. A higher center of gravity makes a cabinet more vulnerable to swaying and overturning, jeopardizing vehicle performance in the process. Therefore, it is critical to keep a dynamic load as low as possible. There is no universal standard for the location of a center of gravity — one application may demand situating the load below 30 percent of cabinet height, while loading below 60 percent may suffice for another — but in general, lower is better.

If an application requires additional stability after the center of gravity is bottomed out, add tie-down points. Extra tie-down points typically include the upper rear of a stand-alone cabinet and along a channel running across the top of ganged cabinets. High-grade fasteners are often ideal for attachment to structural members.

Lock-in and lock-out features will be necessary in a mobile scenario if a sliding chassis, drawer or door is utilized. These features hold a sliding chassis or component in place — either “in” or “out” on a track — enabling routine passage through aisles around the cabinet and safe, efficient electronic service behind the enclosure.

CABLING
Cables require special attention in a dynamic environment, where they are more at risk of incurring productivity-stalling damage. Shock and vibration could cause chafing if the motion induces harsh interaction between cables and edges.

Anywhere cables meet an edge — such as the cables’ entry point into the cabinet — the cables should be tied down, and the edge should be conditioned with strain relief. Tying down cables restricts their movement, while incorporating edge protection such as a plastic grommet softens any friction that could damage a cable’s coating.
Sometimes cables are run through tie-down channels that brace the assembly to the mobile unit. If not, be wary of establishing cabinet tie-downs on structural members where they might interfere with crucial cable routing.

SHOCK AND VIBRATION
Before selecting an enclosure solution for a dynamic environment, conduct testing to establish the maximum amount of shock and vibration that the electronic equipment can sustain. Then, determine the shock and vibration inputs — pulse, vibration and G level — that will occur in the application.

Neutralizing shock and vibration in static environment is often simple, as many stationary environments include little more movement than that generated by internal equipment vibration and cooling fans. The attenuation challenge intensifies in a mobile setting. There, equipment must be protected from the substantial shock and vibration associated with, for example, a vehicle negotiating jagged terrain or a submarine bracing for a depth charge.

Satisfy shock-and-vibration attenuation needs and requirements — which vary according to application and industry — by selecting from a variety of vibration mounts and shock isolators. Vibration mounts such as rubber washers dampen high-frequency, low-magnitude vibration, while shock isolators like cable mounts counteract high-magnitude, low-frequency motion. Many applications also demand internal isolators, which provide shock absorption for equipment on the interior of an enclosure.

Constant shock and vibration threaten to loosen fasteners and cause them to fail, with potentially serious consequences such as injury and extensive equipment damage. Such danger makes locking hardware a must-have for virtually all enclosures in mobile applications. The failure of one small fastener could result in a major problem that locking hardware could have prevented.

ENVIRONMENT
Enclosures in dynamic operations often must protect electronic equipment not only from shock and vibration but also from the elements. Complicating matters, the elements cabinets must combat could change dramatically over the course of an application.

Prior to selecting an enclosure, identify all the environmental conditions that could adversely impact the performance of electronic equipment and prepare for withstanding each of them. Examples include water, salt, dust and extreme temperatures.

In the United States, the National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) publishes ratings of enclosures’ ability to protect against specific environmental conditions when completely and properly installed. These ratings can guide decision-makers to the enclosure type that best fits their application.

Each of NEMA’s 20 enclosure types is designed to protect against a different combination of environmental conditions. For example, a NEMA Type 4 enclosure is suitable for a nonhazardous location and is constructed “for either indoor or outdoor use to provide a degree of protection to personnel against access to hazardous parts; to provide a degree of protection of the equipment inside the enclosure against ingress of solid foreign objects (falling dirt and windblown dust); to provide a degree of protection with respect to harmful effects on the equipment due to the ingress of water (rain, sleet, snow, splashing water and hose-directed water); and that will be undamaged by the external formation of ice on the enclosure.”

Other NEMA nonhazardous enclosure types are designed to provide a degree of protection against such conditions as oil and coolant seepage, corrosive agents and ingress of water (occasional prolonged submersion). NEMA hazardous enclosure types require shielding in atmospheres including the likes of acetylene, hydrogen, gasoline and metal dust.
No matter how mild or harsh the environmental conditions involved with an application, rely on NEMA ratings while also addressing thermal management needs.

CONCLUSION
Decision-makers in industries such as broadcast, security, test and measurement and datacom/telecom face unique layout and design challenges when generating enclosure solutions for mobile applications. Every application is different, with different standards and regulations for protecting electronic equipment. Choose a manufacturer capable of producing a tailored solution through engineering expertise and standard, modified and custom product options.
Although applications vary, by accounting for five general factors — project footprint, weight load/center of gravity, cabling, shock and vibration and environment — decision-makers will be better able to safeguard their electronic equipment from the rigors of a mobile environment while protecting their productivity, bottom line and safety record.

HTML5 Going Like Gangbusters But Will Anyone Notice?

- Lori MacVittie, senior technical marketing manager at F5 Networks (http://www.f5.com/), says:

HTML5 will certainly have an impact on web applications, but not nearly as much as hoped on the mobile application market.

There’s a war on the horizon. But despite appearances, it’s a war for interactive web application dominance, and not one that’s likely to impact very heavily the war between mobile and web applications.

First we have a report by ABI Research indicating a surge in the support of HTML5 on mobile devices indicating substantially impressive growth over the next five years.
"More than 2.1 billion mobile devices will have HTML5 browsers by 2016, up from just 109 million in 2010, according to a new report by ABI Research." -- The HTML Boom is Coming. Fast. (June 22, 2011)

Impressive, no? But browser support does not mean use, and a report issued the day before by yet another analytics firm indicates that HTML5 usage on mobile applications is actually decreasing.

"Mobile applications are commanding more attention on smartphones than the web, highlighting the need for strong app stores on handset platforms. For the first time since Flurry, a mobile analytics firm, has been reporting engagement time of apps and web on smartphones, software is used on average for 81 minutes per day vs 74 minutes of web use.: -- Sorry HTML 5, mobile apps are used more than the web (June 21, 2011)

What folks seem to be missing – probably because they lack a background in development – is that the war is not really between HTML5 and mobile applications. The two models are very different – from the way in which they are developed and deployed to the way they are monetized. On the one hand you have HTML5 which, like its HTMLx predecessors, can easily be developed in just about any text editor and deployed on any web server known to man. On the other hand you have operating system and often device-specific development platforms that can only be written in certain languages and deployed on specific, targeted platforms. There’s also a marked difference in the user interface paradigm, with mobile device development heavily leaning toward touch and gesture-based interfaces and all that entails. It might appear shallow on the surface, but from a design perspective there’s a different mindset in the interaction when relying on gestures as opposed to mouse clicks. Consider those gestures that require more than one finger – enlarging or shrinking an image, for example. That’s simply not possible with one mouse – and becomes difficult to replicate in a non gesture-based interface. Similarly there are often very few “key" commands on mobile device applications and games. Accessibility? Not right now, apparently.

That’s to say nothing of the differences in the development frameworks; the ones that require specific environments and languages.

The advantages of HTML5 is that it’s cross-platform, cross-environment, and highly portable. The disadvantage is that you have little or no access to and control over system-level, well, anything. If you want to write an SSL VPN client, for example, you’re going to have to muck around in the network stack. That’s possible in a mobile device development environment and understandably impossible in a web-only world. Applications that are impossible to realistically replicate in a web application world– think graphic-intense games and simulation systems – are possible in a mobile environment.

MOBILE BROADENING ITS USE

The one area in which HTML5 may finally gain some legs and make a race out of applications with mobile apps is in its ability to finally leverage offline storage. The assumption for web applications has been, in the past, always on. Mobile devices have connectivity issues, attenuation and loss of signal interrupts connection-oriented applications and games. And let’s not forget the increasing pressure of data transfer caps on wireless networks (T-Mobile data transfer cap angers smartphone users, Jan 2011; O2 signals the end of unlimited data tariffs for iPhone customers, June 2010) that are also hitting broadband customers, much to their chagrin. But that’s exactly where mobile applications have an advantage over HTML5 and web applications, and why HTML5 with its offline storage capabilities comes in handy.

But that would require rework on the part of application developers to adapt existing applications to fit the new model. Cookies and frequent database updates via AJAX/JSON is not a reliable solution on a sometimes-on device. And if you’re going to rework an application, why not target the platform specifically? Deployment and installation has reached the point of being as simple as opening a web page – maybe more so given the diversity of browsers and add-on security that can effectively prevent a web application requiring scripting or local storage access from executing at all. Better tracking of application reach is also possible with mobile platforms – including, as we’ve seen from the Flurry data, how much time is spent in the application itself.

If you were thinking that mobile is a small segment of the population, think again. Tablets – definitely falling into the mobile device category based on their development model and portability - may be the straw that breaks the laptop’s back.

"Our exclusive first look at its latest report on how consumers buy and use tablets reveals an increasing acceptance--even reliance--on tablets for work purposes. Of the 1,000 tablet users surveyed, 57 percent said they are using tablets to replace laptop functions. Compared with a year ago, tablet owners are much less likely to buy a new laptop or Netbook, as well.
Tablets are also cutting into e-reader purchase plans to an ever greater degree.
What's more surprising, given the newness of the tablet market, is that 46 percent of consumers who already have a tablet are planning to buy another one. " -- Report: Multi-tablet households growing fast (June 2011)

This is an important statistic, as it may – combined with other statistics respecting the downloads of applications from various application stores and markets – indicate a growing irrelevance for web-based applications and, subsequently, HTML5. Mobile applications, not HTML5, are the new hotness. The losers to HTML5 will likely be Flash and video-based technologies, both of which can be replaced using HTML5 mechanisms that come without the headaches of plug-ins that may conflict, require upgrades and often are subject to targeted attacks by miscreants.
I argued earlier this year that the increasing focus on mobile platforms and coming-of-age of HTML5 would lead to a client-database model of application development. Recent studies and data indicate that’s likely exactly where we’re headed – toward a client-database model that leverages the same database-as-a-service via a RESTful API and merely mixes up the presentation and application logic tiers on the client – whether through mobile device development kits or HTML5.

As mobile devices – tablets, smartphones and whatever might come next – continue to take more and more mindshare from both the consumer and enterprise markets we’ll see more and more mobile-specific support for applications. You’ll note popular enterprise applications aren’t simply being updated to leverage HTML5 even though there is plenty of uptake in the market of the nascent specification. Users want native mobile platform applications – and they’re getting them.

That doesn’t mean HTML5 won’t be a game-changer for web-applications – it likely will - but it does likely mean it won’t be a game-changer for mobile applications.

Tips To Improve Your Mobile Storage

- Scott Ashdown, director, products and solutions at MXI Security (www.mxisecurity.com), says:

Encrypt All Portable Storage. Make sure that all portable storage media are encrypted. Don't go for easily-breakable software encryption, especially now that hardware-based encryption is affordable.

Strong Authentication to Portable Storage. Make sure that unlocking your secure portable storage devices is at least as secure as logging into your network -- after all, the data being protected is just as sensitive. On the flip side, demand a rescue method to deal with users who go offsite and suddenly forget their password.

Lock Out Unauthorized Devices. Prevent usage of devices you haven't authorized for your network with a good port control solution. Only those products you've selected will be usable, keeping security tight.

Integrate with Your Overall Data Leakage Prevention (DLP) Requirements. Full DLP will let you determine who can get access to what, where they can take it, and where they can't. As soon as the data leaves your network, you lose control, so make sure the DLP is part of your mobile storage strategy to win back the control you need.

Manage the System. In truth, integrated management of all aspects of the system isn't necessary for most organizations. However, ensure that you can issue and track all portable storage media, as well as centrally configure all policies on port control and DLP systems.

Tips To Improve Your Mobile Storage

- Chris Romoser, Senior Director of Worldwide Communications and Public Relations at Iomega Corporation (www.iomega.com), says:

Prices are low, so don’t sell yourself short on storage capacity.
Whether it’s Flash or Hard Drive-based, make sure your portable storage device has plenty of onboard storage capacity. Today it’s all about fat file images, video and music, not to mention multi-media work files, so it’s easy to chew up a lot of storage capacity in no time at all. Buy a portable storage device with more capacity than you think you’ll ever need. Today’s portable hard drives come in capacities that reach 500GB and still fit in your shirt sleeve pocket – and for less than $100. At that price, why sacrifice gigabytes by buying a smaller capacity portable drive just to save a few dollars? (Because that’s all you’ll save.) Get as much capacity as you can because you’d be surprised how many pictures you’ll take, how much video you’ll enjoy and how much work you’ll do. Don’t sell yourself short; you’ll undoubtedly regret it later.

Don’t be afraid to mix your portable storage with online storage for access anywhere, anytime.
Many of us suffer angst over the “Big Brother” syndrome, so there’s nothing like holding your own data in your very own hands, which is what we do with Flash drives and portable hard drives. But sometimes we forget a file or lose a file or – don’t even say it – we lose our portable device. So it’s not a bad idea to utilize the “Cloud” and get yourself some online storage. Vendors are plentiful today, but Mozy’s offer of 2GB of free online storage, or unlimited storage for $4.95 per month, is hard to beat. Open your own free account and feel the freedom of being able to access your own data when you’re five minutes or 500 miles away from the office. Even if you did have the very same file on your portable storage device.

Mobile Devices: Real-time Support Is Key

- Alan Dabbiere, chairman of AirWatch (www.air-watch.com), says: The IT department needs to provide real-time support to the fleet of mobile devices deployed across the organization. To minimize device downtime, improve the ROI of both the device and the apps running on it and increase the productivity of your mobile workforce, your IT or help desk should be able to perform the following on any mobile device deployed in the field:

• Screen capture
• Upload file log
• Take remote control of the device for faster issue identification and resolution
• Over-the-air provisioning of software and operating system updates
• Remote application lock down
• Remote lock and wipe
• Messaging
• SMS and phone log audit trail and analysis
• GPS tracking and mapping

Enterprise Mobility: A Growing Concern

- Senthil Krishnapillai, Director of Product Management at Sybase (www.sybase.com), says:



More and more, enterprises are encountering a growing interest from employees in having mobile access to business data and we’re seeing a the trend of employee owned and purchased devices being allowed inside the corporate firewall.

A combination of users bringing their choice of mobile device and well-known enterprise applications is lowering the learning curve because users already are familiar with the application and the ins and outs of their device. So they are much more likely to test and explore the application without needing as much assistance from IT. Employees already see themselves as adept users of both their smartphones and the applications on them.