Verizon Wireless touts its Droid smart phone as “the phone that makes you feel like a four-star general with natural charisma, 12 arms and the power of mind control.” Enterprise telecom managers would settle for much less … like secure e-mail interoperability and remote wipe from an Exchange console. The Droid, released Nov. 6, is built by Motorola and uses the Android 2.0 operating system. An impressive 250,000 Motorola Droids were sold during the device’s first week on the market, San Francisco-based mobile analytics firm Flurry estimates. Like the iPhone and G1 before it, the Droid is a hard-to-resist package of advanced technological delights. Also like those phones, the Droid isn’t likely to top your list of devices to hand out as an enterprise standard. But brace yourself for support requests from rogue users. Should You Find a Way to Say ‘Yes’? The Verizon Wireless device designed to compete with Apple’s iPhone is the world’s thinnest QWERTY slider (13.7 mm) and sports voice-activated search and GPS, high-speed mobile Web, a 5-megapixel camera with flash, a DVD-quality video recorder and access to more than 12,000 applications. One major perk: It comes on the Verizon Wireless network, which won top marks for domestic voice and data coverage from 60% of respondents to Voice Report’s recent Wireless Benchmarks Survey [VR 11/05/09]. Droid eventually will be available on other carriers, believes Rob Enderle, principal analyst for Enderle Group, in San Jose, Calif., which provides technology market analysis.
Droid is a multitasking phone with the ability to toggle between as many as six apps simultaneously – although overall performance will take a hit. Compare that to the iPhone, which can run a single app at a much quicker pace, Enderle adds. Droid is ideal for avid Web surfers, Enderle explains. While the iPhone supports multiple thousands of apps and iTunes, Droid is optimized for Google and all its offerings, including Google Maps Navigation and Street View and Google Voice (Apple refuses to support Google Voice on the iPhone). But the Droid apps, while fewer in number than the iPhone’s massive app store, are higher quality and perhaps more useful, Enderle says. “Users want to simplify with one phone that does it all,” explains Dan Dearing, VP of marketing at McLean, Va.-based Trust Digital, which sells a third-party management platform for devices. The smart phone’s success illustrates the fact that more and more users want a single device that will meet entertainment and business demands. Enterprises “just need to find a way to say ‘yes,’” he says. But, for all its bells and whistles, is the Droid enterprise-friendly? “No one has made a business case about why Droids are better or more necessary,” telecom manager Marcia Hecht says of the 500 employees at Alviso, Calif.-based TiVo Inc. So far, the only argument she’s heard in favor of the Droid is “we want one – they’re cool.” Hecht is determined not to encourage these wishful thinkers until someone provides her with a solid reason why her enterprise needs the Droid. Telecom managers can probably relate to Hecht’s desire to say, “Go away and leave me alone” to employees clamoring for the latest and greatest device. “We have limited resources, and we’re watching dollars like everyone else,” Hecht explains. Read on to make your own determination on the Droid. Droid E-Mail Connects Directly to Exchange, Requires IT Setup Droid’s e-mail abilities might be more in line with enterprise expectations than the iPhone method, Enderle says. Its device interface connects directly with Microsoft Exchange, while the iPhone uses a mobile intermediate service that isn’t as secure. But, practically speaking, Exchange is more difficult to enable on a Droid than on an iPhone, says Keith Shaw, programming director at Network World. The iPhone connects to Exchange through the Outlook Web service so users can do it themselves with a username and password, but IT will need to enable a connection with Droid, he explains. Android 2.0 enables consumers to use the Microsoft Exchange server with ActiveSync protocol, but this is only half the solution, Dearing explains. IT personnel should have the ability to set policies with ActiveSync and use the device out of the box, he says. This functionality is not offered on Droid devices. Security is Primary Concern with Droid Droid is geared primarily towards consumers and does not yet have some of the security profiles that enterprises look for, explains Verizon Wireless spokeswoman Brenda Raney. Although Droid supports Microsoft Exchange and ActiveSync, these functions aren’t protected by the security policies enterprises require, like those now featured in the iPhone 3G, Dearing says. “Droid does not support the two policies our clients require when connecting to MS Exchange: the ability to wipe the device out from the Exchange console and the ability to force the use of a complex password with periodic changes,” observes device analyst Ken Dulaney, VP of Gartner Research in San Jose, Calif. Some venders will subtly add their own security capabilities on the Droid, Dearing notes. So do your homework on what is and what isn’t provided on a device, and wait for internal security to be implemented on the device before making the purchase, he says. Verizon is looking into applications that will increase Droid security for enterprise consumers. “We recognize that employees are consumers, too,” Raney explains. “They see the excitement associated with Droid, and they want to use it. We’re working as quickly as we possibly can to make the Droid more in keeping with what enterprise customers need.” Enterprise-friendly security apps might be rolled out sometime in the next quarter, barring unforeseen circumstances, Raney says. Bottom line: Wait until Droid has been on the market for a while and has implemented more enterprise-friendly security features before agreeing to support it, Dearing advises. ( | 
