Support for Device Management in Mobile Handsets

This study is the sixth iteration of a series of quarterly studies, which now includes data as of 4Q08. It includes the findings of Ovum's previous quarterly study on 3Q08, which was published in March 2009.

Growing support for mobile device management (MDM) technologies in mobile handsets promises to give mobile service providers a much-increased degree of control over the device fleet. Key applications of MDM include remote configuration, defect fixing, diagnostics and software management.

However, as with most handset technologies, tracking actual penetration of the key technologies within mobile handsets is a highly complex task. Even where data is available, it is not updated regularly enough to capture potentially significant short-term market changes.

This makes life difficult for mobile service providers, which need an up-to-date picture of penetration in order to decide whether and when they should be scaling up the use of MDM in their businesses. For vendors in the mobile device management space, an accurate picture of handset support will help them to build the business case when selling and marketing their solutions to customers. Handset manufacturers need to understand how they compare to the competition when it comes to support for these key enabling technologies.

This report therefore gives a detailed insight into the current penetration of MDM technologies in mobile handsets, and gives Ovum's predictions for future market development. In particular, we track support for three key technologies:

• OMA client provisioning (OMA CP)
• OMA device management (OMA DM)
• firmware over-the-air (FOTA) update.

This study is based on exclusive primary data representing more than 1,300 handsets launched worldwide since 2003. It thereby provides a picture of the current market situation based on firm evidence.