Everything you ever wanted to know about device management and the Device Management Forum but someone else was not afraid to ask
This FAQ groups questions into four distinct sections:
1. Device Management
2. Device Management Forum
3. DMF Website/Portal
4. Getting Involved
1. Device Management
What is device management?
Unlike many organisations that define device management as a tool, product or technology, we define device management as a process:
"Device management is the process of acquiring, configuring, deploying, securing, maintaining and decommissioning devices in order to deliver specific business and end user benefits."
Our management scope includes not only the wide range of issues from device choice to device termination, but also the delivery of stakeholder benefits.
I have seen the Wikipedia definition of device management. Why is yours different?
We do not agree with the current (5/2/2008) Wikipedia definition of device management for several reasons.
1.It describes device management as "a set of technologies protocols and standards..." We think it is much more than that.
2.It limits the scope to mobile devices. We think that not only are the boundaries between mobile and fixed devices increasingly difficult to draw, but also that device management is necessary in many areas outside telecoms and IT.
Which devices are we talking about when we talk about device management?
In DMF we are talking about phones, PDAs, consumer electronics, remotely controllable machines. We are mostly interested in electronic devices that end users interact with. Typically they sit at the edges of networks and form part of the delivery chain for information, communication and entertainment services.
What is the difference between device management and mobile device management?
Typically mobile device management relates to the management of mobile phones, PDAs and devices in a mobile or cellular network. As stated above, within DMF we are concerned about a much broader range of devices than mobile phones and PDAs.
How big is the market for device management?
It depends on whose numbers you read. We have seen several analyst reports on this subject, with widely varying market estimates. However, one thing they almost all seem to be doing is (in our opinion) underestimating the size of the service component of the market.
Who makes the best device management solution?
Our members, naturally! No, seriously, it depends on the range and scope of the problems you are trying to solve. If all of your devices are from one vendor or are based on one platform, you might find that a solution from the vendor or one of its close partners might suit your needs best. If like many organisations you have a broad range of devices across several platforms, then you might find that one of the multi-platform solutions from one of the bigger solution providers is best. Then of course having chosen a solution you still need to get it implemented and supported - areas that bring their own sets of challenges.
I am in advertising why should I care about device management?
It is interesting that you mention advertising. Yours appears to be an industry that is undergoing a major transformation. A transformation that most industry observers believe will result in a good proportion of revenues shifting away from traditional media to digital media, in particular mobile devices. Agreed, there are arguments about how much of the estimated $500bn global advertising spend will shift to e.g. mobile and how quickly this will happen. Nevertheless, unfortunately for mobile advertising, mobile search and indeed mobile applications in general, the mobile device landscape is so complex, that before such services can be deployed, tools are needed to identify devices connected to networks and ensure that the devices have the right software and settings. Similar, if less acute issues arise with digital set top boxes and other digital devices. Resolving these issues is where device management comes in. It is fundamental to the deployment and management of services delivered through devices.
Device management has been around for a long time, what is the big deal all of a sudden?
The cynical view is that there have been more conferences and more spending on marketing by device management vendors recently. The slightly less cynical view is that there has been a great deal of market activity recently, including:
M& A (E.g. Alcatel lucent acquires Motive, Nuance acquires Snap In, Microsoft acquires Mobicomp)
Recognition of the importance of DM in underpinning all advanced services
Why is there not a universal device database for the mobile industry?
This has been a major issue for some time because many vendors saw this as area as a source of competitive advantage: "Our database has 22,000 devices". The work being done by dotMobi on their Device Atlas in particular is going some way towards addressing this.
How do I go about finding out who the main players are in device management?
Check out the news and archives on the Device Management Forum Portal www.devicemanagement.org. At present the site is fully searchable even by unregistered visitors.
Why don't you just tell me what the most manageable device is and the best device management system and be done with it?
Well, as you know, strings come in different lengths, colours and materials and are used for different purposes.
In any case we are dealing with a very dynamic market and we believe that the best value we can bring is to create an environment where everyone can put his best foot forward, so to speak.
2. Device Management Forum
Who are the members of the DMF?
Our sponsor members are:
B2M Solutions
Capricode
McTel
Mobilethink
Mossec
Nokia
Nokia Siemens Networks
Perlego
Qelp
Sicap
Synchronica
What are the benefits of being a Sponsor Member of the DMF?
There are several, including free or low-cost participation (as exhibitor as well as delegate) in DMF and partner events, free advertising on the DMF portal for the first year, and the opportunity to chair the DMF or one of its teams. For a list of Sponsor Membership levels and the benefits and fees available at each level, please contact us.
Why isn't xxx a Sponsor Member of the DMF?
If they are an important stakeholder, we'd love to have them on board. We are only just getting going and many players are still not aware of us yet. Even in the cases where some companies are aware of us and their staffs are making extensive use of our portal, the decision makers within those companies might not be aware of us. Of course, it is also possible that we have not put a convincing enough case to the player concerned. If you/they are interested in supporting us, let's talk.
Is DMF a Nokia shop or what?
Definitely not! Despite Nokia's market share and their sponsorship level (Platinum) they are anxious not to be seen as dominating DMF. Also, they have made it clear that they are more than happy to have competitors join DMF.
My competitor xxx is a member of the DMF, what benefit will I get from sitting at the same table as him? What incentive does he have to share any information with me?
Sharing costs
Achieving critical mass for market impact
Ever heard the saying that a rising tide lifts all boats?
What is the point of sitting at the same table to discuss stuff with my competitors?
As every smart business person knows, a competitor today might well turn out to be a partner or customer tomorrow.
We are already the biggest player in the xxx space and have our own portal and newsletter with tons of information on our products and services, why would we want to participate in the DMF?
Good for you, and probably slightly less good for your customers! But no doubt your customers are smart, and if there are other sources of information about solutions to their problems apart from your site and newsletter, they will be exploring them. So it might be useful to present your case via the DMF also. Additionally, you might reach new audiences that might not have considered your solutions before. Besides, if you are that big and important, perhaps it is not that bad an idea to be involved in steering or enlightening the debate on key issues for the industry.
A lot of what you cover seems to be about mobile devices, why didn't you just call yourselves the Mobile Device Management Forum?
Actually, we did for a brief while but then the limitation became very obvious.
Do you have any operators as members of DMF?
No. We have had a few discussions but we have not targeted them largely due to our very limited resources. We know that they are interested in what we do though. We can see staff from an Asian operator spending great lengths of time on the portal, and we have quite a few registered users from many of the major operators around the world.
We are a small company, how could we possibly have any influence with the likes of Nokia involved?Nominally, the influence you have is determined by your level of membership. However if you ask our smaller members, they will tell you that in practice it is also determined significantly by the contribution you make. Besides, our membership fees are such that even small organisations can participate at the highest levels.Small companies are very important to us because although there are 150 or more players involved in device management and related activities. Less than 20 are really large companies.
We are already in OMA, OMTP and 5 other standards bodies, what is the point of joining DMF?
You said it! Standards bodies. We expect that your more technical people are enjoying themselves in standards discussions, but what about your market-facing people? One of the most interesting aspects of the device management space, is the sheer pace of change, and to be frank, there are some of us within DMF that are wondering whether current standards-making processes can keep up with market needs and industry trends.
DMF Sponsor Membership gives direct benefits immediately including a complementary advertisement with a direct link to your site for the first year.
We are thinking of doing some research on device management. Can the DMF help us?
Yes definitely. Part of our mission is to collaborate to fund research in key areas and on a scale that might not make sense for any one member. Also you might find that one or more of our members has similar requirements and might be willing to share costs. Or they might even have some of the answers you are seeking and are willing to share them with you.
Do you have any corporate/enterprise member of the DMF?
Not yet. Frankly, we haven't approached them because our resources are so limited. However we know that a number are making extensive use of our portal. So are a number of tier-one system integrators.
Does the DMF cover/plan to cover enterprise device management issues?
Yes. The DMF portal tracks news in the enterprise sector. Additionally all sponsor members of the DMF have an interest in the enterprise sector. In the case of founding members like Nokia, Synchronica and Mossec there is a direct interest in that they have specific products targeted at that sector. In the case of the other members that target operators and service providers primarily, they are very interested in helping their operator and service provider customers address the needs of enterprises. Additionally, a number of enterprises have already discovered our portal and are making good use of it.
The DMF membership structure contains two levels of corporate sponsors: Large and SME. There is also a Government and Academic sponsorship level.
Abraham Joseph, the founder of the DMF, has spoken at and chaired many conferences covering enterprise management and device security, a major issue in the enterprise sector. He is in continuous discussion with various enterprises.
If you have a particular interest in this sector, we would love to hear from you.
What is the difference between DMF and OMA, OMTP, OMSI, etc?
The main difference is that (at this stage at least) DMF is not about making standards or recommendations on standardisation.
Why is the DMF not involved in making standards?
We believe that there is enough standards making already and that many organisations such as OMA that focus on the mobile area are already doing a very good job. We think what is missing is that there is not enough communication of what standards, solutions, good practices that already exists.
When was the DMF formed?
The DMF was formally incorporated on 19 December 2006, but for several months before it had been operating a loose team structure.
Is the DMF a company, a non-profit organisation or what?
The DMF is a limited liability company whose shares are privately held.
How is the DMF funded?
The DMF is funded privately and through membership fees. And yes, we would like to be better funded so that we can enhance our services and build our membership base. If you are keen to support our cause or interested in helping fund us, please call or email us.
Is DMF profitable?
Not yet. It is very early days for us.
3. DMF Web Site/Portal
How do I get my logo on the DMF Portal?
Assuming you mean banner adverts, like the ones already on the site, there are two ways:
1) As a Sponsor member of DMF, you get the first year of advertising with a link to your site included in your membership.
2) You enter into an agreement with us to advertise.
How do I get my news on the DMF Portal?
It couldn't be simpler. If it is relevant to device management or to the related areas we cover, please send it to us and we will carry it. You can help us by removing the unsupported claims and making it simple and concise.
How much does it cost to get my news on the DMF Portal?
At present, nothing. However, we are not guaranteeing to post items just because they are released as ‘news'.
Why don't you just take a PDF copy of my press release and publish/archive it?
This service is available to Sponsor Members only. However, most have not made much use of it so far.
We prefer to just state what the news is, and to make it as simple and as concise as possible. Too many press releases are far too long, make too many unsupported claims and contain little or no real news.
We try not to censor anyone's news, but also we do not think it is fair for us to be publishing as news that ‘XYZ Corp, the leading global provider of xxx did yyy'when we and most industry observers have never heard of XYZ Corp and we do not have a single data point relating to XYZ Corp's financials, product/service performance or customer base. At the risk of upsetting our friends in the PR industry, let's put it this way: we have found that there is a real hunger for news and information about what is going on in device management and related areas, and that there is much less need to dress it up than most people seem to realise. For example, in the case cited above, many of our readers will be very happy simply to find out that XYZ Corp. exists or that it has a solution in a particular segment of the market.
How have you chosen the candidates for your Leadership Interviews?
There is no great mystery or science here. We have started with our members because The Leadership Interview is one of the benefits of Sponsor Membership. However, we are moving on to other leading industry players that we think have very interesting things to say about device management and/or related areas.
My CXO is a true visionary when it comes to device management. Why don't you do an Interview with him/her?
Please send us his/her details and a biography and we'll consider it. However, please bear in mind that we already have several interviewees in our pipeline. Also, we are not just interviewing on the subject of device management. We are looking at the broad range of issues relating to the design, development deployment and use of devices as well as services and applications associated with devices.
Why don't you interview xxx and ensure you ask him/her yyyy?
Thank you. We'll consider it. We'd love to enable as many people as possible to share their views on this forum. So we welcome suggestions about people to interview and issues to explore. The Leadership Interview is one of the tools we are using, and it made sense to start with our sponsor members. However, as you can see we are starting to extend to other stakeholders
Please continue to send us your suggestions.
My CXO/Marketing VP/Director has written a very good article on device management, can you publish it on the DMF portal?
It depends. Has it been published elsewhere? Does he/she own the copyright or have written permission from the copyright holder.
We prefer original pieces written for the DMF, and depending on our workload, we might even be able to help him/her write it.
If you have ideas, opinion, etc that you would like to contribute, please call or email us.
Why do you have an entire page of the DMF portal devoted to Series 60 and not done the same for any other platform?
Nokia and Series 60 are Sponsor Members of the DMF and one of the benefits of Sponsor Membership is the ability to create and archive content on the DMF portal. We would love to have similar pages for other platforms and are in discussions with other players.
If you are a platform provider and would like to see a similar page on your platform on the DMF portal, please call or email us.
If you are the Device Management Forum, why is your site carrying so much news on all that other stuff?
As we said at the beginning, we do not think that device management is an end in itself. In fact, we believe that in order to do a good job of managing the device, we need to be aware of the applications on the device, the network mechanisms the device uses and the systems the devices access across the various networks it uses.
Do you have stats from the DMF portal to show how people using it?
Yes. We have very detailed stats. They show us that our users come from over 85 countries, and from a wide range of industry sectors. We are also getting very good insights into what users are interested in via the searches they perform.
Can I advertise on the DMF portal without being a member of the DMF?
Yes. Please contact us to discuss.
What types of people are using the DMF portal and what are they using it for?
We have found that there is very broad appeal. As mentioned above, our visitors come from over 85 countries. At present the US dominates the hits and page impressions statistics.
A very broad range of people are registering on the portal, representing a broad range of sectors including:
Network operators and service providers (all tiers)
Mobile phone and PDA vendors
System integrators
Device distributors and retailers
VC firms
Enterprises, including healthcare, oil and gas and automotive.
End consumers
Technology and financial analyst firms
PR companies
From the search statistics, we can also see that people have a broad range of interests.
So what are people searching for?
They seem to be searching for all kinds of things including definitions of device management, specific device management solution vendors, specific device vendors, specific models of phones, operating systems and specific people.
Where can I find out more background on device management or mobile device management?
There are a number of articles on the DMF site, some of which include insights from many of the leading players in device management. Try for example, http://www.devicemanagement.org/content/view/20754/152/.Additionally you might find some of the leadership interviews quite enlightening. You need to register and login in order to be able to read those or download PDF versions from the Resources/Downloads section of the site.
4. Getting Involved
OK, you've convinced me! How does my company become a Sponsor Member? How much does it cost?
Please contact us for a membership application form.
I think you guys are doing some cool stuff. How can I get involved? What help do you need?
You can help us in several ways, including:
1.Encouraging your organisation to become a Sponsor Member of the DMF
2.Supporting our events such as the upcoming MIDAS Conference & Expo on 27-29 October in London.
3.Providing some resources to work on DMF projects
4.Providing facilities for DMF meetings and events
5.Contributing articles
6.Making others aware of the DMF
7.Participating in the Answers forum on the DMF portal
8.Sending us your suggestions on how we can improve our services
Do you have any jobs going?
Yes, lots. But none that we can afford pay you to do. Currently we do not have a budget for hiring. On the other hand, if you have jobs or projects going that can pay us but still give us enough time and freedom to develop DMF, a couple of us might be interested. So give us a call.
