Top 10 Enterprise Mobility Management Suites In Gartner's Magic Quadrant

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Gartner has released its Magic Quadrant report of Enterprise Mobility Management (EMM) Suite leaders.

EMM is an evolved version of Mobile Device Management (MDM) as it includes application and content management. EMM suites also cover hardware and application inventory, OS configuration, mobile app deployment and configuration, remote view and control for troubleshooting and executing remote actions.

There have been some changes in the space, with some perhaps unexpected vendors at the top of the hierarchy.

Here are the top 10 EMM suites in Gartner's Magic Quadrant.

10. BlackBerry

Starting out the list is the Waterloo, Ontario-based company that continues to lose ground in the mobile space but has the security capabilities to keep its head above water. The Magic Quadrant says BlackBerry Enterprise Service is mainly used by companies that support BlackBerry devices, and that BES10's MDM support is the strongest in the space.

Some of BlackBerry's highlights in the report are its the ability to audit and log SMS messages and its high-end customer support program. However, the report also cites BES10's lack of broad mobile platform support and describes its support of iOS and Android as "incomplete."

9. Sophos

The Oxford, U.K.-based company's Mobile Control software supports iOS, Android, Windows Phone and BlackBerry, and is the only vendor to have a form of digital rights management (DRM) as part of its mobile content management software.

Gartner's Magic Quadrant highlights that Sophos' Complete Security Suite is an easy to implement solution for business looking for both mobile and desktop protection. Its mobile content management encrypts files transparently, resulting in a PC or mobile device free of data leakage.

The report says Sophos' inability to rapidly innovate, citing its lack of support for Samsung Knox, as a negative.

8. Symantec

The Mountain View, Calif.-based company's Mobile Management Suite (MMS) includes Symantec App Center, Symantec Mobile Management and Symantec Mobile Security.

It supports iOS, Android and Windows Phone.

Gartner's report notes that despite having a strong product, the company has a weak presence in the EMM market. Symantec, however, acquired Secure PIM vendor Nitrodesk, which should strengthen its offering. One of the features Gartner highlights in Symantec's MMS features is that it provides app wrapping capabilities that allow apps to be dynamically updated without rewrapping.

Gartner's Magic Quadrant also notes that Symantec's MMS lacks multiple leading features, including Samsung Knox support.

7. SAP

SAP Mobile Secure offers a suite of products including SAP Mobile Documents for mobile content management, and Afaria for MDM, which is offered on iOS, Android and Windows Phone. SAP Mobile App Protection by Mocana for mobile application management supports iOS and Android.

The Gartner report highlights SAP as having a large set of global partners assisting in sales and implementation, enhancing SAP Mobile Secure's overall viability.

Gartner also notes that SAP is typically late with supporting releases of mobile operating systems and their new features compared with other vendors.

6. Soti

The Mississauga, Ontario-based company offers MobiControl, which supports iOS, Android, Windows Phone, Windows 8 and Mac OS X.

MobiControl Android+ technology sets Soti apart from competitors as it allows for a high degree of control and configuration management capability for Android devices.

The Gartner report recommends Soti as a "good fit for organizations that require broad EMM capabilities."

The Magic Quadrant also highlights privately held company's MobiControl offering as having strong remote support capabilities, with full remote control for Android devices and remote viewing for SDK-enabled iOS apps. The report, however, also notes that its automated iOS and Windows Phone enrollments are limited to email.

5. Good Technology

The Sunnyvale, Calif.-based company's acquisition of BoxTone strengthens its MDM capabilities and provides mobile service management capabilities.

The privately held company's Good for the Enterprise (GFE) MDM offering supports iOS and Android, while Good Dynamics (a mobile application management module) supports iOS, Android and Windows Phone.

Gartner's Magic Quadrant notes that Good's Secure Privileged Identity Management feature is the most mature in terms of offerings in the EMM space but its focus on mobile application management is behind leading EMM vendors in MDM support, especially for Android and Windows Phone.

4. IBM

After acquiring Fiberlink this past December, IBM has positioned MaaS360 as a key to its enterprise mobility solution. MaaS360 supports iOS, Android, Windows Phone, Windows 7/8 and Mac OS X, while its mobile application management offerings support iOS, Android and Windows Phone.

Gartner's Magic Quadrant highlights Fiberlink's "mature shared-processing multitenant architecture" as the best cloud among competitors in the EMM space.

The report describes MaaS360 as easy to use and states that installations can be personalized to meet a business's needs, while extensive self-help offerings are available for individual users.

The report does note MaaS360's issue with inactive device records as they are not deleted automatically.

3. Citrix

The Santa Clara, Calif.-based company's offering of XenMobile MDM supports iOS, Android, Windows Phone, BlackBerry and Windows 8, while the Citrix MDX Toolkit supports iOS and Android.

The company unveiled its Workspace suite just last month, which allows it to deliver access to apps and content to any device.

The Magic Quadrant highlights Citrix ShareFile as being "the most complete and feature-rich" among EMM vendors in terms of mobile content management capabilities. Gartner, however, reports its reference checking found relatively low adoption of XenMobile in comparison with the leading EMM Venders.

2. AirWatch

AirWatch was bought by VMware this past February but will continue to run as a separate business as it is branded as AirWatch by VMware.

The Magic Quadrant notes that AirWatch's product suite contains "all the standard components of an EMM product" along with basic management for desktops and an application reputation service.

Garnter's report highlights AirWatch as having "proven large-scale deployments across every vertical market."

However, the Magic Quadrant also states, "We have had numerous reports of problems in the Secure Content Locker and Inbox email applications, causing customers to use AirWatch only for MDM and mobile application management."

1. MobileIron

Squeaking out the top spot in Gartner's Magic Quadrant is Mountain View, Calif.-based MobileIron.

MobileIron provides an EMM solution that is specific to the software and devices of an organization.

The company's MDM features support iOS, Android, Windows Phone, Windows 8 and Mac OS X, while its mobile application management module supports iOS and Android.

The Gartner report credits MobileIron as being the only EMM vendor that offers real-time remote-view capabilities on iOS. Consequently, the Magic Quadrant notes that MobileIron has "more limited Android manufacturer API support than many other leading EMM vendors."