MSPs: Have You Considered These Key Cloud Mobility Issues?

In an age of instant access, remote offices, and working on the go, the cloud needs to be mobile – and easily accessible – for businesses and employees at all times.

Cloud applications for mobile devices are increasingly popular for businesses across industries. In fact, demand has gone up 88 percent in the past five years alone. As the trend towards mobile collaboration continues, MSPs need to consider these important issues to ensure successful integration across platforms and devices for a user-friendly mobile experience.

Cloud on the Go: An Essentials Checklist for Mobile Cloud Apps

1. One of users’ most frequent complaints about the mobile cloud is the difficulty of navigating mobile interfaces. Mobile friendly clouds need to take into consideration the specs of different browsers and operating systems as well as ease-of-use when uploading or collaborating.
2. Your network must be capable of hosting a mobile cloud app that is able to handle the volume of workers looking to access a company’s data remotely. Its infrastructure needs to be able to maintain a constant connection. Monitor usage and volume and proactively confront potential issues with growth before they become a problem.
3. The mobile cloud presents more security risks, necessitating a firm security plan. Especially if you’re storing sensitive data for the medical or financial industries, you need to be sure that protections are in place should a mobile device be stolen or misplaced. Advise your clients to password protect all mobile devices and encrypt sensitive data.
4. All mobile networks should be monitored and controlled via an external system. In the case that malware infects one mobile device, the MSP or its client must be able to target and remove it remotely before it reaches other devices or networks.
5. Ensure that your cloud’s architecture is built to connect various devices to one private cloud network and that it functions correctly across all platforms.
6. Communicate with your client to provide them with the tools they need in their mobile cloud network. Will they require sophisticated document editing or videoconferencing? Mobile platforms are not as advanced as desktop versions, though innovations in the coming years will aim to resolve these remaining issues to enable full collaboration.
7. Become an invaluable resource to your clients by training their employees to successfully access, update, and protect data via the mobile cloud. Common mistakes include forgetting to sync a document after updating it, leaving mobile devices unattended, and neglecting to encrypt important information. Maintain company standards that ensure data integrity and share these with your clients.
8. Build trust and grow your client base by ensuring that you employ expert customer service trained specifically to troubleshoot problems with mobile cloud apps.

The mobile cloud is the way of the future for a working world that is increasingly physically separated and always on the go. IT professionals will be pressured to think up new innovations that improve access, facilitate collaboration, and better ensure the security of sensitive information.