Multiple Usage of a Mobile Device 

Use

SAP MI enables multiple users to share a mobile device.

Before a mobile device can be used by another user, the last user must log off, since multiple users may not be logged on simultaneously.

If multiple users work with the same mobile application, the application only needs to be installed once on the mobile device.

For information about data security for multiple usage, see Data Security in the Security Guide for the SAP Mobile Infrastructure.

Features

●      Authentication

Users must log on with their user ID and password each time SAP MI is started. You can distinguish between a local logon password and a synchronization password (see Passwords in SAP MI).

During synchronization, the users and the synchronization password are verified in the back end. If needed, new mobile applications are installed on the device or applications that are already installed are released.

Users working with the mobile device for the first time must manually create a user for the client (SAP MI Client Component). The system accepts any user password and any local logon password. Synchronization, however, is only possible if the user and password match those for the server (SAP Web AS) (see Passwords in SAP MI). Users can perform the following activities after logging on:

●        Edit the synchronization settings

●        Edit the trace settings

●        Start synchronization

●      Changing the Password

Every user can change his or her local password for logging on to the client when they are logged on, and if they are connected to the server, he or she can also change the synchronization password for logging on to the server (see Changing Passwords).

If the user forgets his or her local logon password, they can reset it online (providing this option has been configured for the client). To do this, the user must verify his or her identity on the server with the synchronization password.

●      Access to Application Data

Application developers can define the areas in which the data is stored for every mobile component developed based on the SAP MI.

The data can be stored either in a separate area for each user or in a common area to which all users of the mobile device have access.

If the data is stored in an area to which all users have access, access can be restricted with authorizations (see Defining User-Specific Data Filtering).

The administrator can define this setting with the Mobile Component Descriptor (see Mobile Component Descriptor). The default is that each user sees his or her data only.

●      Authorization for Synchronization

When implementing mobile applications, application developers can define if all the data waiting for synchronization is sent to the server during synchronization or if only the data for the synchronizing user is sent.

●      Deployment of New Application Versions

If two or more users of a device use the same application, new versions of the application will only be downloaded and installed after all users synchronized at least once. This can be changed by setting a parameter in MobileEngine.config (see Parameters for Controlling Deployment).