The quarterly publication of the International Legal Technology Association
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/4983
the quarterly magazine of ILTA 31 Peer to Peer CASE STUdIES A major challenge in managing mobile devices at Burns & Levinson LLP has been dealing with the many device types and mobile platforms that are allowed to connect to the firm's e-mail system. This variety of choices was precipitated by a change in our mobile device policy, which was changed from standardizing exclusively firm-issued Research In Motion (RIM) devices and a BlackBerry Enterprise Server (BES) to a more open-ended policy where any device enabled with Exchange ActiveSync (EAS) can connect. This policy change has resulted in expectations that the IT department is familiar with and can activate a wide variety of devices that attorneys wish to use to access firm e-mail. Even our confidence in RIM devices can be shaken as new iterations of BlackBerry devices appear. Imagine what happens when attorneys are clamoring to have their iPhones, Treos, and Palm Pres connected. The melding of personal and business on a handheld device is another issue. In addition to a broad landscape of diverse devices, a mobile policy allowing heterogeneous devices reduces the firm's ROI in RIM technology, specifically the BES, support costs and licensing. Allowing non-RIM devices does not leverage the various tools and advantages that a BES structure provides. New tools are needed to manage these interlopers. The native tools available with Exchange (Mobile Access settings, Exchange ActiveSync Mobile Administration Web Tool, etc.) are not quite up to the task, in my view. Thus, more investment in smartphone management tools might be necessary to close the gap in efficiently managing these non-RIM devices. Another concern for a heterogeneous environment is the impact on Exchange of the direct connections that the EAS connector provides. EAS maintains a connection between the Exchange Server and iPhones and other connected devices, and it remains to be seen what the full impact of these direct connections will be. Burns & Levinson has begun addressing these issues in two ways. First, IT members have iPhones and other devices so we can gain some exposure to them and stay current of mobile technology. We know which smartphones will work in our environment and which might not be ready for corporate use. We are always happy to leverage our BlackBerry investment and welcome new BlackBerry models for use in the firm as we continue to investigate mobile management applications that would help us get a better handle on all connected devices. The barbarians are at our (BlackBerry) gates, and it is up to IT to utilize our existing tools and potentially rearm ourselves with new weapons so that the onslaught of new device types and platforms can be effectively monitored and managed. We allow a device if it can connect via BlackBerry Enterprise Server, Good Technology or Exchange ActiveSync and supports our security policies. The challenge we face is in the support of non-BlackBerry devices, because most of our employees are issued BlackBerry devices. To aid our support staff, we have created knowledge base articles and quick reference cards for setup, common problems and troubleshooting. We also have a group of support staff that is well versed in non-BlackBerry devices to handle issues. ILTA Name . . . . . . . . . . . . . . brian Tabor Company . . . . . . Greenberg Traurig Number of Attorneys . . . . . . . . 1,750 Number of Offices . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 We have Created Articles and quick Reference Cards Name . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Larry McGrath Company . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . burns & Levinson LLP Number of Attorneys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135 Number of Offices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 We're Learning All We Can About different Mobile devices