As a partner with HP, Anexinet has exposure to some of the latest innovations in development for our business clients. I had a chance this past week to attend a summit on HP's Mobile Application Development Platform (MADP), HP Anywhere, with members of their development team. It was a great chance for me to learn more about the mobility landscape and how HP is addressing the challenges.
The Challenge
IDC's Mobile Enterprise Software Survey from 2011 identified the top reason enterprises are adopting mobile is to improve and enhance worker productivity. Meanwhile, bring your own device (BYOD) policies are becoming more prevalent and IT teams are finding the need to balance adaption of personal devices with the need to protect assets with role-based security policies. The need for mobile enterprise solutions for developing, distributing, managing, and consuming information is clearly needed for an organization to properly adopt mobile into the business.
HP's Response
I spoke with HP's Mobile Evangelist, David Moses, and learned that HP faced this problem themselves with their 10,000+ users. The end users wanted to bring their own devices, they wanted a single sign-on solution, they wanted access without intrusive IT policies, and they wanted quick and easy access to back-end systems. On the other hand, IT wanted to build apps on multiple platforms without substantial overhead. They wanted to protect their assets based on security policies, was well as distribute the right app to right employee based on role. They wanted to ensure the access to back end systems is encrypted and secure. HP's IT team developed a solution to address these challenges called HP Anywhere. Used internally, HP Anywhere is HP's product to adapt mobility in the enterprise.
What's Different?
Other MADP products exist, including offerings from IBM, Kony, SAP, and Citrix. I found HP Anywhere to set itself apart from the competition in collaboration. The main HP Anywhere container contains all the applications, so the applications can talk to each other. They all have access to the collaboration API, and the main page of HP Anywhere can receive push notifications from all the activity in the apps. This is of particular use in the scope of mobility where users might interact through simple messages about a work item in lieu of a real-time conversation.
Summary
I really enjoyed spending time with HP Anywhere's development team and learning more about their product. Developers and managers alike can try out a demo of HP Anywhere by going to http://www.pronq.com and accessing developer resources, sample code, and the API reference at http://developer.hpanywhere.com. Organizations looking to adopt mobility have a huge opportunity to improve worker productivity while still ensuring security of the business. It's exciting to be a part of Anexinet's mobility practice and help clients navigate these challenges.Labels: BYOD, HP Anywhere, MADP, Mobile