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VMware AirWatch Named the Leader in Magic Quadrant for EMM
Citrix, BlackBerry, IBM and MobileIron also score high.
VMware's AirWatch took the top spot in Gartner Inc.'s annual "Magic Quadrant" for Enterprise Mobility Management (EMM) Suites, being cited as the leader for both the "Ability to execute" and "Completeness of vision" categories.
Other vendors in the "leaders" quadrant include Citrix, MobileIron, BlackBerry and IBM. Microsoft was listed as a "Visionary," scoring well for "Completeness of vision" but not as highly on the "Ability to execute" side of the ledger.
The report (see Figure 1), released this week, says that "VMware AirWatch's offering has comprehensive EMM functionality and, as a result, appears most frequently in Gartner clients' EMM vendor shortlists." It also lauded AirWatch for the ease-of-use of its console, innovation and scalability.
Among the drawbacks are "periodic code quality issues" and complaints about support from customers without a dedicated Technical Account Manager. But those shortcomings aren't enough to knock it from its perch at the top. This is AirWatch's sixth straight appearance in the Magic Quadrant, and the first time it has been the leader in both the "Ability to execute" and "Completeness of vision" categories.
Citrix
Citrix was highly rated as well, and Gartner said it "continues to see reasonable growth in the Citrix XenMobile client base … Client-side innovation is evident in the Worx suite of containerized apps through updated features and new Worx offerings. Citrix offers one of the more full-featured EFSS clients in its ShareFile offering, along with a user-friendly DLP solution that offers customization of user-facing messages when sharing actions are blocked."
It was dinged for questions of scalability with Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) deployments, and less-than-stellar Windows app integration. Another caution deals with potential changes to XenMobile with the sale of its GoTo businesses this year.
New vendors added to the list in 2016 include Cisco, Matrix42, NationSky and Snow Software.
AirWatch was acquired by VMware in February 2014 for $1.5 billion. It's safe to say, given its consistent performance in the Magic Quadrant, that VMware is happy with the purchase.
[Click on image for larger view.]
Figure 1. The Gartner 2016 Magic Quadrant for Enterprise Management Mobility.
About the Author
Keith Ward is the editor in chief of Virtualization & Cloud Review. Follow him on Twitter @VirtReviewKeith.