Microsoft Announces Mobile Exchange Certification

Microsoft has announced a certification program for mobile apps that use its ActiveSync technology to link to Exchange. This is part of the effort to reduce complexity for network administrators, who are faced with a tidal wave of different mobile devices, often brought in by users rather than provisioned centrally.

Focal Points:

• "IT pros who are supporting Exchange for their user bases are dealing with an increasing number of consumer purchased devices," Ian Hameroff, Microsoft's group product manager for Exchange partner marketing, told Network World. The certification will give administrators the ability to "more easily identify which mobile devices are best suited to work with Exchange and its security and management policies".
• The certification will also help users understand whether their handsets will work effectively with their workplace's Exchange implementation. OEMs will be able to place the new logo on their devices and Microsoft hopes phone makers will see this as an added value feature as they target business customers.
• The program is already underway and has certified its first devices, including, predictably enough, any products running Microsoft's own WP7 or Windows Mobile 6.5. Also passed are the iPhone, when running iOS 4.0 or above, and Nokia products running Nokia Mail For Exchange (versions 3.0.5 or later). The certification process examines which elements of Exchange ActiveSync (EAS), Microsoft's widely licensed mobile synchronization protocol, have been implemented, as many gadgets implement only a subset, which can lead to inconsistent performance among different phones. The logo is only awarded when those elements are enabled which support smooth integration with Exchange.
• The 14 mandatory features are mainly concerned with data management, with functions such as sending and reading rich formatted email, accepting and declining invitations, looking up contacts, remotely erasing all a device's data, and various password requirements.
• Applicants must license use of the EAS protocol from Microsoft, and must use EAS version 14 or later. A third party will do testing and certification.

Vendor Certification is an excellent way to affect both developer and customer behavior. Some of Experton Group’s clients are using certification to indirectly drive business unit behavior and enforce standards. For example, there are some associations that can only influence technology, process and policy standards adoption. In order to increase standard usage, they have a program where they certify members who have adhered to standards. The clients that each member supports apply pressure to have this certification.