As the competition between the top enterprise mobility management platforms heats up, it’s no surprise that a growing number of tech resources and publications are getting a closer look at their features and capabilities. Last month, we shared results of the EMA Radar report, which ranked AirWatch as its 2016 MDM (mobile device management) leader. It also identified MobileIron, MaaS360, Citrix and SOTI as fellow value leaders. Recently, PCMag conducted its own review of AirWatch, giving it an “excellent” editor ranking after thorough evaluation. Below is a snapshot of some of the information covered. Or, read the complete review online.

PROS

Broad product offerings to meet a variety of customer needs. Visually pleasing and customizable user interface (UI).
CONS

A few pain points during the device registration process. Limited support at this point for Windows 10 devices.
BOTTOM LINE

Vmware AirWatch is the market leader and has the customer success stories to prove it. They have deployed large numbers of devices and successfully demonstrated the ability to scale. With VMware as the parent company, it makes sense that AirWatch will be around for a while to come.

Author Paul Ferrill summarizes, “In addition to providing AirWatch with some interesting enterprise benefits by integrating it with VMware’s other product lines, the software performed well in my testing, and has a list of features long enough to make it useful in almost any business mobility scenario. Couple all that with a nice price as compared to other products in this roundup … and AirWatch is the deserving recipient of our Editors’ Choice award this time around.”

Installation and Device Enrollment

The reviewer tested the EMM platform using a Windows, Apple and Android device. He received an introductory email with links to a personalized website and login information to get started. VMware AirWatch requires an Apple Push Notification (APN) service certificate, which is simple to obtain and register.

Though at the time of review the author had issues with his Windows device using the Windows 10 mobile operating system, AirWatch has since upgraded its platform to fully support Windows 10 devices. With the Apple and Android devices, he was able to download the app, scan the QR code in the enrollment email and install the requisite AirWatch services seamlessly.

Management Interface

The dashboard on the AirWatch console gives you the ability to quickly scan for problems based on colors. Clicking on any of the colors will drill down into that specific issue with more detailed information underneath.

The author was able to quickly set a PIN for each device (if not already established), though he did experience some battery drain on the Android device during operation. Handy reporting features could be used to build filters to show devices by any number of different categories to get a quick report on problems, compliancy issues, or any one of a number of custom attributes.

A Competitive Price

Though the cost of AirWatch by VMware is slightly more than some of the other products reviewed, it was not significantly higher. With other features available and a clear upgrade path, it’s a product one could start with slowly and then grow to meet additional needs.

The lowest level is Green ($4.33 per month) and gets you basic MDM plus their secure container and app catalog. The Orange level adds the AirWatch Inbox which includes the AirWatch Secure Email Gateway. Blue is the first level that adds the VMware Identity Manager, as well as app wrapping, a managed browser and AirWatch’s secure content locker view.

Overall, “tight integration with online services (to include Microsoft Office 365) and a constantly expanding portfolio of supported Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) applications for single sign-on (SSO) helps keep existing customers happy and draws interest from new customers as well.”