Why IT Managers love Windows Phone 8 best
For end users, Nokia was the undisputed winner in PC Mag’s Business Choice Award for smartphones last year.
In fact, it had “the highest ratings in every end-user satisfaction measure in which it had sufficient responses.” Here at Nokia Conversations we’re very confident that the scores from IT managers would’ve been equally impressive.
Take, for example, the words of Alex Nagy, IT Engineer from Goodridge, the world’s leading manufacturer of fluid transfer systems, which has recently made the decision to switch from Blackberry to Nokia Lumia: “We were pleasantly surprised by the quality and variation of the devices, the usability of the operating system, and best of all, the devices are all priced very competitively.” For even more evidence that you should make the switch to Nokia Lumia, we listed our top five reasons why IT managers are bound to love Windows Phone 8.
1. Seamless integration
For companies with existing Microsoft infrastructure, Windows Phone 8 is a natural extension of an investment they’ve already made. Why? Because it integrates seamlessly with Exchange, Lync, SharePoint and Office 365. The only mobile device with a built-in SharePoint experience, Windows Phone works with any Exchange server. It is Lync ready for instant mobile meetings between Nokia Lumia users, allowing colleagues to securely share presentations and other materials to each others’ devices. (Lync can be downloaded as a free app).
With Windows Phone 8, you’ll need minimum configuration and none of the costly hardware, middleware or company-wide licenses associated with totally new deployments. Plus, when solutions on employees’ smartphones are already familiar to them from their PCs, they’ll be instantly more productive and require less support. This will save time for IT managers, too.
“You get seamless connection into our back-end Microsoft systems, so a [Windows Phone] tablet that looks pretty much like an iPad gives you access to Exchange, all of our systems, ERP [enterprise resource planning]. As well as all the nice tablet functions people like.” (Computer Weekly, 1/2014)
Andrew McManus, IT director, NEC Group
2.Microsoft Office on the go
As the quintessential solution for every business user, Office deserves a mention of its own. Every single Nokia Lumia device comes with Microsoft Office Mobile built in, so the mobile versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote are ready for use from day one. Employees can access, edit and share their Word, Excel and PowerPoint documents directly from their SkyDrive, SharePoint or Office 365 accounts via their Lumia devices’ Office Hub. The versatile OneNote makes it possible for mobile workers to jot down key ideas anywhere, as well as letting them add files, photos, web pages and even spreadsheets into their notes.
All documents edited in Office Mobile are automatically synced with SkyDrive or SharePoint. For the IT professional, this translates into no complex backup arrangements.
“It was so easy and another reason was the number of business applications that are available out of the box, so we rolled out Windows Phone without having to install any external applications.”
Boris Hurinek, CTO of software services group Eurobase (Computer Weekly, 1/2014)
3. Broad device portfolio is simple to support
The large and constantly evolving Nokia Lumia portfolio of devices ensures every company, from small and medium enterprises to large corporations, has exactly the right tools to match their mobility requirements and IT budget. How about a combination of Nokia Lumia 625s for sales professionals in the field, Nokia Lumia 1520s for managers in need of large screens and Nokia Lumia 1020s for designers? Thanks to all Lumia devices sharing the same platform, IT support remains wonderfully straightforward, even with a variety of Lumia models in the company fleet.
“Lumia has several models and price categories and they all give you the same platform and same apps for a very reasonable price. We can now give our end-users much more than in the past, with the same budget. This is very good development.”
ABB Finland’s Interim Country CIO, Esa Pigg
4. Secure and manageable with MDM
With Windows Phone 8, you are able to choose from a variety of leading vendors when it comes to picking a mobile device management solution, from AirWatch and MobileIron to Windows Intune and more. The right MDM solution combined with Nokia Lumia devices will not only help you ensure the security of your company’s mobile devices, but also provides excellent opportunities for application management.
Company-wide lock-code policies, remote lock and wipe of data for lost or stolen devices, IRM protected email including attachments and full device encryption are just some of the many ways IT managers can safeguard their Nokia Lumia devices and sensitive data stored in them through MDM. What’s more, corporate applications and settings can be securely distributed over-the-air. How’s that for amazingly effective IT management?
“Company Hub allows us to push vital apps, company updates and important communications to users’ devices… Security is very important, especially with such a large user base. We didn’t consider iOS or Android as we are not able to manage individual devices as we would like, nor are we able to secure them.”
Jay Lyford, IT Manager at Sports Direct
5. You’ll never be alone
If you ever face a problem, or feel in need of peer support, there’s a whole community out there to help you. Just register free of charge for Nokia Expert Centre online for all the business mobility support you could possibly want for deploying and managing your company’s Nokia Lumias. There are free webinars about specific solutions and products, a bundle of past course materials to peruse, videos, white papers and case studies. Perhaps most importantly, you’ll find a place to ask questions and help from Nokia professionals online, as well as sharing knowledge with your fellow IT experts using Nokia and Windows Phone 8. We look forward to meeting you there!
For IT managers who want to optimise total cost of ownership, while saving precious time and avoiding unnecessary headaches, choosing Nokia Lumia and Windows Phone 8 really is a no-brainer. If you haven’t done so yet, get in touch! Or are you already one of the IT managers who love Windows Phone 8? If so, please tell us your reasons why in the comments below.