Ubuntu Phone – An Excellent proposition for the enterprise?

You might be aware that Ubuntu is coming out with an OS for smart phones. A short Youtube video introducing their OS is embedded above. What’s different with Ubuntu Phone OS though, is the direction in which they are steering the concept of a smart phone. They propose a single device that will act as a mobile phone, thin-client and a computer.

You think it’s too daring an idea? Maybe. But considering the recent trend of storing data and accessing applications on the cloud, our dependence on the large processing power offered by traditional computers are coming down. The processing power on mobile phones has also been increasing simultaneously. Except maybe for processor-hungry applications like gaming, etc. commonly used applications might very well be utilized through devices with nominal processing/storage capability.

In enterprise companies, the concept of desktop virtualization has been steadily gaining popularity. With DV, the desktops reside in the data center and only an image is presented to the user. Even though companies have high-power computers, processing and storage is managed by large/powerful servers in data centers. There are a number of advantages of desktop virtualization. In such cases, investing in PC’s or thin-clients just to input/output data, is an expensive (and perhaps unwanted) proposition.

If the smart phone can double up as a thin-client as well, which is what Ubuntu is proposing, enterprise companies can save a lot of money that will otherwise be spent on buying expensive data access terminals (which is the function performed by many PC’s these days).

Basically, there will be a dock which will hold the Ubuntu phone and it will double up as a CPU. If you connect a monitor, keyboard and mouse to this dock, you will get a computer. A thin-client, actually. While the input/output terminals are stationary, the CPU moves with you and you can access your content from anywhere. How cool is that?

Of course, there will be some limitations. For instance, enterprise companies might want to manage all their computers/access terminals using a single platform. Ubuntu is proposing its ‘Landscape’ platform for the same, which can manage Ubuntu servers, desktops and mobiles through a single interface. But what about managing terminals with other operating systems, which will be the case in most enterprises?

Will people be able to access Windows applications from such a system? Ubuntu says they have a client software that allows Windows apps to be delivered from the data center/cloud to their device. How seamless is the experience going to be for the users?

Security is another parameter. Ubuntu says that they allow kernel-level control of all installed apps. Virus and malware are not an issue with Linux-based computers, yet. They also have their Ubuntu One cloud service that makes content on the phone available to all devices.

While the concept looks very attractive, will companies/employees be willing to shift to a single OS, for all their devices? What will happen to all the Windows-based applications that companies have been using till date, in such a scenario? Irrespective of how this initiative fares, the direction and the vision behind such an initiative needs to be appreciated. What do you think?

Further info: Ubuntu Phone.