Support for Device Management in Mobile Handsets: 2007-2009 (2Q07 Update)

This study is the second iteration of a series of four quarterly studies, covering 2Q07 onwards. It updates the findings of Ovum's previous quarterly study, which was published in July 2007.

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

However, as with most new 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, who 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 nearly 800 handsets launched worldwide during the last four years. It therefore provides a well-evidenced picture of the market as it really is.