Magic Software is one of several IBM i-oriented development tool makers chasing the mobile opportunity, which is a big one. Last week, Magic bolstered its mobile story with new mobile device management (MDM) and offline mode capabilities.
The new Magic MDM offering gives customers the tools necessary to provision, support, secure, and monitor both corporate-owned and personal devices that employees bring to work. The software supports iOS, Android, and Windows platforms, and enables administrators to accomplish management tasks through a Web-based interface.
The Magic MDM offering can be used to enroll and configure devices over all network connection types (WiFi, 4G, etc.). It can deploy OS upgrades and apps and to upload data using an enterprise application store or application catalog methodology. Administrators can enforce geographic limits on devices, and otherwise enable or disable applications. It also allows users to track and report on mobile devices, giving organizations a better idea of how employees are using the devices and the apps.
MDM is a good addition to Magic’s mobile offering, namely its xpa development and runtime environment, which can be used to build and deploy Web, mobile, and Windows-based interfaces for server-based applications that run on IBM i, Windows, or Linux. On the mobile front, the metadata-driven, Microsoft .NET-based IDE supports native Android, Blackberry, and iOS devices. It also gives users the option to generate hybrid or HTML5 interfaces for their smartphone or tablet devices.
About 20 to 30 percent of Magic’s current customer engagements are spurred by a need for mobile solutions, says Regev Yativ, CEO of Magic Software Enterprises Americas, the Irvine, California-based division of the Israeli company. By 2014, that number will likely rise to 60 or 70 percent, Yativ told IT Jungle in an August interview.
In addition to MDM, Magic last week announced offline support as part of its “end-to-end solution” for mobile.
By Alex Woodie.
