Mobile Device Management is no picnic. Just ask anybody who’s doing it – or trying to.

On the surface of things, MDM doesn’t seem so tough. All you have to do is read the website of any major MDM vendor, and they’ll explain that they have the whole problem handled. Just buy their solution, and “problem solved.” But you don’t have look very hard to start finding chinks in the armor.

Gartner’s 2012 Magic Quadrant for Mobile Device Management Software Report is prefaced with the assertion that “MDM features have commoditized with little differentiation,” indicating that most offer the same strengths – and weaknesses. Perhaps the biggest limitation on MDM as a category is that the ability to actual manage devices is highly dependent on the mobile operating system each device is running – and all mobile OSes are not created equal in terms of their ability to be managed.

The EDUCAUSE 2012 Conference right around the corner!  The annual conference is the premier gathering of the brightest minds in higher education IT, and Lenovo invites you to join us in booth #1614 to get hands-on demonstrations of some of our latest products.

We will have hands-on demonstrations of the new ThinkPad Tablet 2, featuring Windows 8, as well as our full portfolio of ThinkPad Ultrabook PCs including the ThinkPad X1 Carbon.  See how it stacks up to the competition before the show with this X1 Carbon vs MBA infographic.

Find out more about our product showcase at EDUCAUSE here or request a 1:1 meeting with us to learn more about Lenovo, discuss our education strategy, or understand our product roadmap.

To help you prepare for the show, we invite you to download these complimentary e-briefs:

• 4 Key Mobility Trends for Instructional Technologists to Watch

• Mobile Tech Transforms Higher Education: 5 Key Trends to Watch

• Instructional Technologist’s Guide to Mobility Advances: 4 Opportunities to Make an Impact in Higher Education

Learn more about Lenovo at EDUCAUSE here:  www.lenovoeducause.com

Windows 8 is finally out. The question for enterprise is, should we care? While I don’t see any enterprise professionals doing cartwheels over it, the early returns do look somewhat promising – at least for portable devices.

I myself laid eyes on a bevy of news Windows 8 devices at a hardware vendor’s coming out party a few weeks ago, and I liked what I saw. However, there was a distinct consumer flavor to these offerings (as one might expect from the company that pioneered personal electronics back in the 1970s).

But some more robust Windows 8 devices are also on tap, and I have to think they could have some serious allure in the corporate sector. To date, while many enterprise organizations have come to tolerate the tablet, I think the number of large enterprise companies that actively embraced – or God forbid, actually pushed tablets out to users proactively – you could count on your digits, without removing your shoes. I believe that most tablets in the enterprise initially came in the back door, or in many cases, through the boardroom door as executives showed up to work with their shiny new devices and demanded that IT hook them up to the corporate network.

Originally Posted by Aaron Goldberg, Tablets at Work Blog

When we start to talk about using tablets in an enterprise, one of the first things that must be understood is that the tablets we all know and love are not industrial-strength designs focused on the needs of a commercial organization.  Rather, these are consumer-first products that have real limitations when it comes to using them for business.  And this isn’t just a hardware discussion, although there are some key hardware differences.

1.  Operating System

The first large difference that has to be addressed is the operating system.  And the operating system is dramatically impacted depending on what the tablet is used for.  Consumer tablets are for browsing, running little apps, games, and generally “light-weight” work. 

I get to talk to a lot of CIOs in my line, and I always enjoy getting their perspective on technology and change. I’m frequently awed by their intelligence and the sheer scope of their knowledge and experience. I’ve often been surprised by their backgrounds, as well. I can think of top CIOs who came out of college with degrees in Philosophy, Chemistry, even Zoology. None of them thought they’d end up running IT for a major agency or corporation. (Guess which one ran an entire State’s IT? See the answer below.*)

So it’s particularly interesting to talk to them now, as the world they grew up and carved out a career in begins to disintegrate around them. Some people are even questioning if there will be such a thing as a CIO role 10 years from now. The question isn’t that far-fetched: “Self service” IT is a reality now, with a complete range of custom IT resources readily available to any department or individual who decides to “go rogue,” while bring-your-own device (BYOD) is spreading through organizations like wildfire – regardless of IT’s official policy on the practice, one way or the other.

In my conversations with CIOs and IT leaders during the past 18 months, most consider it a given that they must have a mobile strategy for their organizations. These strategies range from allowing employees to access the corporate network with their personal devices (a practice widely known as Bring Your Own Device, or BYOD for short), to pursuing a full scale switchover to a tablet-based infrastructure for users. Most companies find themselves somewhere in the middle.

The one fly in the mobility ointment for the majority of IT leaders is the issue of data security. Simply put, mobility breaks the time-tested perimeter security model that most organizations are still desperately clinging to. The fact is, the perimeter model is already broken. Mobility just brings this issue out into the light.

It’s one thing to make big investments in mobile technology and other IT infrastructure in an effort to enhance the academic learning experience. It’s another thing altogether to ensure that technology is actively and effectively applied. When mobile IT and infrastructure investments are not paired with solid professional development for faculty and other staff, it’s unclear whether upgrading an institution’s technology to embrace mobility will ever pay off.

That’s the lesson that many colleges are now taking to heart as they seek ways to ensure they are maximizing their returns on mobile investments. They realize they must make professional development a priority if they are to engage faculty and produce successful outcomes.

The following ideas can potentially help your university make the most of its mobile technology commitment and investments:

Originally Posted by Kristin Bent, CRN

Apple, Lenovo Face Off

There’s no doubt that the iPad has taken the tablet market by storm. Its sprawling collection of apps and eye-catching display have made it the clear-cut winner in the consumer market. And with the bring-your-own-device trend picking up the pace, Apple’s flagship tablet has been inching its way into the hearts of enterprise users, as well.

But, there’s a new tablet in town that may just have what it takes to de-throne the almighty iPad: Lenovo’s ThinkPad Tablet 2. Running Windows 8 and sporting a long list of security features sure to make IT teams smile, Lenovo’s latest gadget could rise to become the ultimate business-ready tablet.

Here’s how it shapes up against the iPad.

Today’s workforce is increasingly empowered and enhanced with mobile technology. Colleges that are enabling their students to fully leverage mobile technology and learning are ultimately preparing them for success in today’s economy.

Consider some current trends:

First responders such as police, firefighters and emergency medical technicians (EMTs) play a critical, highly visible role in state and local government service. In fact, they’re often the public face of government itself.

In the past, public safety personnel relied on clipboards, paper charts and files. Employees had to commute back to a central office to synch devices, and complete and file paperwork, and information was only accessible from mainframe desktops. To significantly improve service and increase efficiency, public safety departments across the U.S. have turned to mobile computing technologies like laptops, tablets and smartphones.