Recent advances and developments in mobile technology paved the way for computationally heavy processes such as mobile app virtualization. New mobile devices tend to have bigger screens, more storage, and higher-quality displays. It enables mobile users to access more complicated, resource-intensive applications on their mobile devices to perform their tasks.
These tasks involve accessing organizational content and analysis of data and messaging clients and team members. Users rely on mobile apps while they are away from their workstations to complete these vital tasks. So when a device is missing or replaced, IT needs to ensure that users can access those applications promptly. To achieve this, IT can roll out most smartphone apps with a network for mobile device management (MDM).
However, corporate IT departments have no time for downloading apps for each device. While using MDM for large-scale deployment of apps, there are still concerns about managing BYOD smartphones, tablets, and more. Mobile admins typically cannot work on personal devices with the same management policies.
Advantages of Mobile App Virtualization in Enterprise
Mobile apps virtualization— especially mobile apps streaming— is the best way to tackle a lack of administrative control on personal devices. For some time, the technology for streaming software and content has been around. Vendors like Microsoft are using this technology to offer complex applications to end-users, like the Microsoft 365 series.
This method does not require IT to perform installations and configurations. The idea is to connect mobile users from a centralized server with streamed mobile applications. Users may eventually be able to access enterprise applications without having to install or configure them beforehand. This is likely to change the way mobile devices interact with apps and how IT handles apps on personal devices for work.
Besides ease of control on personal devices, there are other significant advantages that virtualization and streaming of mobile applications can bring to enterprise organizations:
- Portable Applications: Users don’t have to restrict the access to a specific device to their work application. Alternatively, they can load applications from enterprise to multiple enabled devices and access the same data and files.
- Application Isolation: The program can live only when it is in use on the mobile device. So data is secured and never stored on the device locally.
- Broad Access to Applications: Research shows that streaming virtual apps can alter the positioning of mobile devices. Enterprise organizations are likely to operate the applications on edge servers, which can be placed by cell towers. The mobile devices will locate the nearest server and access the applications when appropriate.
