Apperian President Mark Lorion: Mobile Device Management Isn't For Everyone

At Boston-based Apperian, a subsidiary of Arxan Technologies, the focus is on providing mobile app security and management without the need for IT to directly manage the device.

That's given the company a window into how much usage iPhones are getting vs. Android smartphones in the U.S. workforce.

According to Apperian President and General Manager Mark Lorion, three-fourths of users at Apperian customers are on iOS, while the remaining one-fourth is on Android devices. And that has been "relatively stable for years," Lorion said.

"In the U.S., we see most of the organizations are using iPhones or iOS-based devices, predominantly, with a smaller percentage using Android," Lorion said. "That equation is actually flip-flopped in EMEA. In Europe, we see mostly Android devices, with a smaller percentage of iOS-based devices."

Windows mobile devices "still represent a very small percentage of deployments," he said. "We think that will increase, but we haven't seen it change with much note lately."

Lorion also spoke with CRN about when mobile device management (MDM) is appropriate for a business—and when it isn't.

"We see mobile device management systems generally being used when the device is owned by the corporation," he said.

But, many organizations want to deploy mobile apps to workers who are not employees, such as contractors or those using their own device in a BYOD setting, Lorion said.

"In those cases, putting the governance and security and management at the individual app layer allows the company to securely distribute those applications without requiring that the device itself is under management," he said.