You Can Have Your Tablet Any Way You Want It...... OS Fragmentation Revisited and Security Implications - 1 Oct 2010 - by gins

In what seems like an eternity ago, enterprise IT managers were confounded with the first wave of mobile workers, toting devices based on Pocket PC 2000 and 2002 (offering phone support), followed by Windows Mobile 2003 (offered as Premium, Phone, Professional, and Smart Phones.... you get the idea), 2003 2nd edition, 5.x (integrating Exchange support), 6.x, also offered in multiple versions (Standard, Professional, and Classic), and with 6.5 introducing the Windows Phone brnading, and the week after next, Windows Phone 7. Seen this movie before?

Just when it seemed there was a bit of rationalization in the enterprise space, with IT managers converging on RIM, Windows Phone, and more recently the iPhone and Android, along comes the tablet with a completely new set of support and security issues.

On the OS front, we've now got the iPad running iOS, and multiple revisions of Android with handset vendor customizations. I doubt a Samsung Galaxy Tab, a Dell Streak, the Cisco CIUS, and a host of other Android tablets will exhibit the same behavior when users call for support. Got Security? In the other corner are the Windows 7, RIM Tablet OS (based on QNX), and HP devices (based on webOS). At least one would hope these are secure. Add a bit of Windows Phone 7, Symbian, and who knows what else, and if I were an IT manager I'd be very worried.

Unlike smartphones, where document viewing is a painful experience at best, the tablet lends itself to content storage in the same way as a laptop. Product powerpoints, COGS spreadsheets, internal launch videos, functional descriptions... bring 'em on! Apps developers are falling over themselves perfecting the various forms of side and cloud-loading, and iOS 4.2 will even further the problem. I personally find that a simple email enclosure addressed to me does the trick, in combination with GoodReader. The scary part is my cavalier attitude toward my iPad, toting it around and stashing it in all sorts of undignified places. Oh the stories it could tell.

So, beyond the OS, my firm belief is that the document management problem will create many a late night headaches for IT personnel. This is what must be addressed for risk-free tablet adoption within the enterprise. And the problem is real. I see it within some of the largest and security-savvy tech companies in the valley. Best practices implemented as part of smartphone deployments seem to be cast by the wayside in equipping employees with tablets. Consider it a wakeup call.