Joining the Android Enterprise Experts community

I’ve been involved with Android since the very beginning, and have watched it evolve from the competitor to Windows Mobile it was originally destined to be into the most popular and secure mobile OS on the planet.

7 years ago I had the opportunity to take an active interest in utilising Android within a corporate context; my first deployment was locking down Samsung devices for use in a field marketing environment and I can say, with confidence, it was not the buttery-smooth experience we have today. Back in the days of Jelly Bean, a couple of years before the introduction of Android for Work and the shift in Google’s mindset towards Android security, it was a different animal.

Today, 100’s of deployments, presentations, training sessions, over 20 documents, countless articles both here and for the likes of TechTarget covering Android Enterprise later, I feel fairly confident in saying I know a few things about Android, even with so much still to learn.

With the program now public, I am excited to be able to say I join a select number of people across the world who have undertaken and passed the Android Enterprise Expert validation, a requirement for MSPs who wish to gain Android Enterprise Recommended status to show they know how to sell, deploy and train on Android in the enterprise.

Open only to AER MSP professionals, I was lucky enough to be selected as one of the first independent (non-AER MSP) individuals in the world to take part in the validation, which is a huge honour!

The validation currently runs in two tracks, implementation (AIX) and support (ASE) with plans to merge into one in future. Having completed both tracks I’m validated to cover Android deployments end-to-end, from pre-sales and planning through to BAU support. My hope in future is to see a validated trainer programme, as this feels like the next logical step.

In becoming validated, I also join the Android Enterprise Experts Community, a private group for experts to collaborate, discuss topics and recommend solutions to everyday situations, and together improve Android Enterprise understanding and awareness across the world. Information is light on this at the moment as it hasn’t yet launched, but more details will be published in future.

It’s been an incredibly busy 12 months, and I look forward to continuing my work to promote Android Enterprise through this site, working with new and existing customers through my day job, and building the best Android Enterprise communities on the planet!

Correction: After Google confirmed I was the only non-MSP individual to undertake validation and approved my original statement on March 7, I was contacted on March 13 to say there had been a mistake and I was instead one of a few, which is no less incredible! I work extremely hard to always ensure I share only accurate information about every aspect of the Android Enterprise ecosystem, and will continue to do so. Apologies for any confusion!