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May 01, 2013

Samsung Makes a Strong Play for the Enterprise

Samsung presents a compelling case for its handsets to be the number one enterprise mobile phone choice over other Android and other “Fruit named” options. The company teamed up with GENBAND to showcase its technology and vision in a keynote speech featuring an “Oprah moment” with all Perspectives13 event attendees receiving a Samsung Galaxy Note II.

“Mobility in the enterprise is no longer an option,” Samsung Mobile VP/GM Tim Wagner told the audience. "It is a necessity, with BYOD [Bring Your Own Device] representing the fastest growing segment for smartphones."

However, enterprise adoption of Samsung and Android needs to cross “The Chasm” of adoption, said Wagner. Enterprises want support for their internal IT policies, smartphones need to get on a corporate list of supported devices for BYOD/enterprise-provided devices, businesses need solutions by market segment and industry, and Samsung would need to develop strong brand awareness in B2B applications.

Hindering the use of Android within the enterprise is an “ongoing” perception that Android devices aren’t secure, as well as a lack of IT management controls and no single implementation of Android, with different OS versions, carriers and devices, on the market.

Responding to enterprise needs, Samsung first developed the Samsung For Enterprise (SAFE) program, a set of solutions that includes support for Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync features, onboard AES 256-bit encryption, VPN connectivity and best-of-breed multivendor Mobile Device Management support.

Samsung provides a consistent level of IT compliance and business functionality through SAFE across multiple versions of the Android operating system. Certify one SAFE phone and all other SAFE devices can easily be included on a company’s supported device list.

However, SAFE is only a first step. 

“We have no wins in the financial services and government,” said Wagner. “I want Obama to have a Samsung device in his hand. If we figure out how to get into government, all the other regulated industries will fall in line like dominos.”

Knox, introduced in the keynote, is Samsung’s hardening of Android and the device. “We worked with the NSA for over 36 months to create an enhanced security version of Android,” said Wagner. “It’s an Android-based solution from grown-ups.”  

Samsung worked at hardening the device “from the metal to the OS” to make it secure enough for government use. Many of the software enhancements have been rolled back to Google for incorporation in a future version of Android.

Government sales aren’t the only near-term opportunity Samsung has set its sights on. Replacing the laptop or desktop with a Samsung smartphone or tablet is within its vision, as is the (age old) dream of replacing the desktop phone, be it TDM or IP based.

Samsung’s structured roadmap into the enterprise market is likely to cause heartburn for Apple and other Android device manufacturers. Apple makes a solution – in this case iOS devices –  to make Apple happy, with the needs of the enterprise only begrudgingly addressed at the end of process as an afterthought. Within the mobile device ecosystem, the preferred solution for BYOD has been to run virtualized partitions for business and personal use, adding other third-party bits and pieces as needed.

Finally, there’s Samsung’s worldwide corporate clout. The company logged $200 billion in revenues last year, is ranked as the number one global smartphone provider, and is spending billions on brand this year  to boost its current standing within the top 10 global brands (currently ninth). With over 100 million Galaxy smartphones sold worldwide (and growing every day), Samsung has a lot of mass and momentum that will be difficult to counter.




Edited by Alisen Downey


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