Google Android Fails in Business.

[rocketpig]

timmah said:

rocketpig said:
As a former IT manager, I can state that dealing with Android devices was a ****ing headache. Too many variables and time spent doing simple tasks because everyone's phone operates differently. I can only imagine what it would be like if I had to set up the phones to do more complex tasks like VPNing or more complex internal data management.

In short, this isn't the least bit surprising. I've always said that Google's biggest mistake was not unifying their operating system. Down with skins, down with carrier and manufacturer specific customization. It's just a bad idea.

I run the IT consulting division of a small company. If one of the companies we work with want to use Android, we usually settle on a known 'good' phone, then deploy the same phone to everybody (for example, we just had one company decide to go with the GSIII). We also have some companies that are iPhone only (don't get me started on the massive headache that every iOS upgrade gives me, their update process is garbage), or have a list of approved phones, such as iPhone and a small number of current Samsung devices. We're starting to push the new Windows phones since they're going to integrate very well with existing Microsoft products. Policies and standardization within a company regarding  smartphones gets rid of much of headache.

That's the only way to do it with Android (and mobile in general, really). The problem with my old company is that they were cheap bastards and didn't pay for ANY phones so employees would haul in whatever piece of shit they found on the street for $5 and expect me to make it work properly.

Still, I think Google allowing manufacturers to skin Android is a huge mistake. It destroys any semblance of a consistent UIX. Which means that people would bring in phones and say "I can't get this to work" and even though I owned an Android phone, it would take me far too long to figure out their problem even though I owned a phone with the same OS.