Inside Looking Out: An Executive View on Enterprise Mobility with Dan Rudich

Welcome back to the latest edition of Inside Looking Out.  We had the opportunity to sit down between Stanley Cup Playoff games with Dan Rudich, CEO of Anomalous Networks, a Telecom Expense Management company based out of Montréal, Québec.  We covered a broad range of topics, including expense management, device tracking, security  and more.  You can check it out below.

The Enterprise Mobility Foundation:  Hi Dan.  Welcome to Inside Looking Out.  I know we could spend the entire time here today talking Bruins and Canucks, but let’s try to stay focused on the other thing we’re passionate about: Enterprise Mobility and specifically Wireless Expense Management. Wireless expense management isn’t the sexiest thing in the world, but it’s still a very important issue for most organizations.  This has been highlighted recently with some excessive charges from certain mobile operators.  Should governments come in and regulate these practices?

Dan Rudich: I think governments should only regulate businesses that affect “basic human needs” such as water, air, etc.  Is wireless service a basic human need?  The more I think about this the more I think it is.  How many people do we know that can live without their mobile phone?  Based on the premise that mobile service is a basic human need than I guess I am in favor of government regulations for the space.  There are solutions for bill shock out there and I think the mobile operators should make it easier for their subscribers to find and use these solutions.  I have seen with my own eyes cases of bill shock that threatened to bankrupt families and companies.  Governments should regulate the mobile operators to at least make tools available to their users to use these types of solutions.

EMF: One way to deal with this issue would be for companies to just use pooled plans….unfortunately that doesn’t always meet the needs of certain individuals in the organization.  How should organizations balance pooled plans vs. highly tweaked custom plans?

DR: Pooled plans are a simple way to prevent bill shock, but they rarely optimize telecom expenses.  The problem with the typical pooled plan is that not all of the people in the pool are created equal.  Your heavy users consume all the slack that your light users leave over.  A more optimal scenario would be to create pooled groups of similar usage profiles.  Create a pool for your heavy users, one for your medium users and one for your light users.  Combining this with real-time monitoring tools will prevent bill shock and optimize your costs.

EMF: We often talk about the mobile worker or the global worker.  What about the global mobile worker?  How should organizations go about handling their mobile help desk needs?

DR: The technology of today is amazing.  Last week I was able to conduct an international video conference from a moving car.  It has become so much easier to be a global mobile worker.  However, the costs of these events are some of the biggest causes of bill shock.  There are many places in the world where you will be charged data roaming rates of $80/Mb or more.  If you combine this with networks that now reach speeds of 30Mb/minute.  That is $2400 per minute!!!  One long YouTube video and you can buy a Prius!!!!  You can get into a lot of trouble very quickly with global mobile workers so the Mobile Help Desk needs real-time tools to keep a handle on these events as they occur.

EMF: One of the most popular topics on this site is the ever dynamic trends between individual and corporate liable devices.  Where do you see this trending?

DR: I keep hearing about how the big trend is towards individually liable devices but I am seeing the opposite in the market.  In fact, I am seeing a switch back to corporate liable.  One large Pharma company I know of switched to individually liable devices and switched back to corporate liable less than a year later.  They found that the users were just expensing the large bills back to the company anyway.  They tried to fight a few of the bills but they could not prove what percent of the usage was for work or personal and their employees “promised” the overage charges were work related.  They did not want to risk losing their employees over billing disputes so ended up switching back to corporate liable.  The company has more monitoring capabilities, bargaining power and control over costs when they own the bill.

EMF: But what about the personal data that you will have on your device?  How does that get handled in this balancing act?

DR: I met with a company that had a pretty good, low tech idea.  They have instructed their users that all personal information should be stored onto a Micro SD card and all corporate data should stay stored on the device.  This way:

• The company does not destroy personal information if they wipe the device.
• The employee can take their personal data with them.

EMF: Speaking of personal data, I can’t think of anything more personal on your mobile device(s) than your location.  Apple and Google are getting a lot of heat for their tracking practices.  What does this mean for employers and employees?

DR: I really see both sides of this issue.  As an employee, I would hate to think I am being “spied on”.  However, as an employer, if an employee steals or loses my company asset, I should have the right to track it down.  Bottom line, I believe the user should have the right to know the device is being monitored.  Companies should adopt an “opt-in” approach to device tracking.  If the employee does not “opt-in” that is already a potential sign of things to come.

EMF: What’s your “net net” recommendation to a CEO as s/he thinks about mobility in their workplace?

DR: This is biased of me to say but I really believe it… Solve the cost problem of mobility first.  I have seen tons of mobile security, sales force automation, e-form projects, etc get canceled when the CFO sees a giant mobile bill.  None of the mobility projects will succeed until there is a sustainable, cost controllable, model in place.  First, I figure out what house I can afford then I figure out what alarm system to purchase.

Well there you have it. Thanks Dan, for taking the time to chat with us about your views on enterprise mobility.  We can now focus back on the Stanley Cup playoffs.  If interested, you can connect with Dan here.  Do you know anyone who should be a guest here on Inside Looking Out?  Drop us a line.