‘AT&T has a distinct advantage in the enterprise mobility space’
What are the reasons for enterprise mobility focus for AT&T?
AT&T formed the Advanced Mobility Solutions (AMS) group to accelerate the delivery of mobile applications and solutions for the organizations of all sizes. We recognized that AT&T, as a carrier, had a distinct advantage in the enterprise mobility space. Businesses in India, as in the rest of the world, have been adopting mobility at an exponential rate of growth.
Our company can deliver all the components of mobile solutions—not just wireless transport, but also applications, devices, professional services, and more. Throughout 2011, we achieved new heights in developing, designing, and deploying mobile applications for businesses. Last year, the number of AT&T business customers adopting mobile applications increased by nearly 300%.
What are the 2012 plans of AT&T for this division?
AT&T is focusing on helping companies develop holistic mobility strategies encompassing mobile device management, application development, machineto-machine (M2M) communications, bring-your-own-device solutions, and mobile security.
AMS has established a practice of collaborating with promising vendors to deliver mobile solutions over the AT&T network. One of the ways to accomplish this objective is through the AT&T Foundry, where developers and start-ups work alongside AT&T engineers to bring new apps, services, or devices to the market faster than ever before.
Please explain the various enterprise mobility solutions that are gaining prominence.
The possibilities for mobile solutions on smartphones and tablets are almost endless. Real estate agencies are using mobile applications to keep track of property listings, a grocery store that developed an app for shoppers to easily locate products, freight companies are calculating shipping costs on smartphones, and so many more.
Another type of solution that is catching on is mobile Point-of-sale (POS). With an attachment for swiping credit cards and a mobile application, sellers can transform their mobile devices into virtual cash registers.
How is AT&T’S enterprise mobility solution addressing the needs/pain points of enterprises?
One of the major pain points for businesses is complexity. Just think about the number of mobile device manufacturers, operating systems, application developers, and software providers in the enterprise mobility environment—it’s staggering.
By combining different offerings from a single vendor, the companies can launch comprehensive mobility solutions that meet their specific business needs— working with just one provider.
akankshas@cybermedia.co.in