Managing an organization's array of mobile devices can be a daunting task, not to mention a complicated one. With so many vendors and products on the market, what's an IT manager to do?

That's where our first place winner in the mobile management category comes in. Sprint Managed Mobility Services (SMMS) set itself apart thanks to its comprehensive, end-to-end customization, control and security functions. SMMS cover all the bases, and then some.

As its name indicates, SMMS isn't just a single mobile management tool, but rather a set of bundled services that are designed to allow enterprise-wide management of mobile devices, just as one might manage an organization's desktops or laptops. With SMMS, you can not only monitor device usage and enforce corporate policies, but also easily take action in the event of a security breach.

Security functionality might be SMMS' most remarkable feature. Namely, with SMMS, if a mobile device is lost or stolen, all its data can be rubbed out and functions disabled, making the device all but useless to unauthorized users.

Our judges were also impressed with the product's ease of integration and use, always a thorny issue when working with multiple mobile devices. SMMS gives IT managers the big picture view of a company's wireless assets, so waste and duplication can be eliminated by consolidating services and even devices where possible.

Finally, SMMS can help organizations when it comes to the bottom line, which, after all, is what it's all about. Thanks to creative billing plans, employees can draw from an organization-wide pool of anytime minutes, reducing unused-but-already-paid-for minutes that can drain the corporate wallet.

Jeffrey Kelly