The widespread adoption of smartphones and other personal communication technologies has dramatically changed the way that the business world stays connected. However these devices are also associated with significant cost, risk and usability challenges for companies. The answer to these concerns is often a mobile device management solution, which secures, monitors and supports multiple devices across the enterprise.

However, traditional mobile device management strategies – such as a sandbox approach – can lead to adverse results. Sandbox clients can adequately secure a company's mobile network, but they also severely disrupt a mobile device's native OS experience. Business users who rely on many of the next-generation communication technologies provided by today's mobile devices are often let down by the sandbox strategy to MDM.

Another approach – offered by California-based MobileIron – simplifies mobile device management by moving smartphone data to the enterprise cloud. The company's MobileIron Virtual Smartphone Platform provides data-driven mobile device management, real-time wireless cost control and complete functionality for the end user.

In addition, MobileIron's approach mitigates many of the concerns that enterprises have with traditional mobile device management strategies. The solution can support multiple mobile operating systems  including Android (News - Alert) and iOS, while eliminating high mobile support costs and enterprise security issues.

The MobileIron Virtual Smartphone Platform also helps enable a mobile apps strategy and reduce the large international roaming charges that are often associated with business travel. Furthermore, MobileIron can run in conjunction with sandbox clients, which helps customers who are required to incorporate some legacy e-mail messaging security features into their MDM solution.

In other company news, MobileIron will be hosting a one-hour interactive webinar next week to discuss the company's value proposition including security, proactive cost management and application provisioning. The webinar will kick off on Tuesday, June 28, 2011 at 2:00 p.m. EST. Click here to register or to learn more.

Beecher Tuttle is a TMCnet contributor. He has extensive experience writing and editing for print publications and online news websites. He has specialized in a variety of industries, including health care technology, politics and education. To read more of his articles, please visit his columnist page.

Edited by Jamie Epstein