The advent of smartphones started a small
experiment for senior management; it has now become mainstream. Explosion of
smartphones in the enterprise driven by economical choices and increasing
convenience has seen Progressive IT departments adopting a controlled and open
attitude towards providing access to information on the go. Solutions have
evolved with app-ification of many processes and business opportunities and
Cloud based offerings. BYOD is no longer a 4 letter word, it’s reality for
enterprises and CIOs.
Reluctant IT organizations are being pushed
and forced into acceptance to define a framework on how to weave BYOD into the
company fabric. Reality of yesterday which revolved around unmanaged devices,
multiple platforms and form factors, and security of corporate data appear to
be excuses now. While the starting point for most enterprises has been MDM or
Mobile Device Management, additional solutions are equipping enterprises to
create a secure and managed ecosystem for employees and partners.
The next few years will see a shift towards
BYOD for most enterprises who are deploying mobility solutions of any kind.
This is largely driven by the need to push information to stakeholders though
newer use cases are emerging with sales force, distribution and approvals. There
is also a pull exerted by various parts of the enterprise who are beginning to
realize the time value of information. The challenge is not security anymore,
it is managing the upsurge in expectations driven by the fact that someone has
already done it somewhere in the world.
Is there a balance between complete freedom
to totally restricted world ? There is no formula by size or industry type or
even geography that provides a generic universally acceptable answer. Each
enterprise will have to find its own equilibrium depending on need and benefit;
my belief is that information enabled employees are likely to take better
decisions or create newer opportunities in comparison to staff that live with enforced
restrictive policies. Wearables open up new opportunities for the savvy
technophiles.
The world is getting bipolar with mobility
divided into 2 camps – Android and iOS. Stealthily a third alternative is
emerging which offers comfort of the known and familiar to IT folks: Windows !
IT knows how to manage this platform while others intrusively came in from the
consumer employee. I believe that this trend will be the saviour for IT giving
them a platform that they know how to manage. Interestingly new innovation with
dual boot devices with Windows and Android are just around the corner.
Some people may ask, what about the
Blackberry as a device or platform ? Should we stop thinking about it ? There
still are remnants of this in some enterprises. Should they stay in focus ?
Predictions have a bad way of turning around and biting you; so if they do
offer something critical that others don’t (which I am not sure of unless it is
specific to your business), move them off. It is easier to manage one less
technology than keeping it lingering around. In the near term I don’t see any
merit in continuing with them.
The future belongs to an empowered
enterprise where every person has information on demand available on his/her
fingertips on a device of his/her choice. Ubiquitous and seamless access
activated by secure channels that are MITM (Man In The Middle) and MOTB (Man On
The Browser) attack proof; apps are obviating the need to create adaptive
websites and compromises in user experience. Enterprises should explore a way
to use Apps to provide secure transactional capabilities to employees while
running off a public or private cloud.
New devices will continue to challenge IT; drive
with policy which is adaptable and allows for induction of new environments.
Put them to work in a lab before they start knocking on the door asking for
permission to connect. Invest in tools and technology that allow you to manage
the devices by exception and policy; that is easier to execute than creating an
exception every time something new turns up. You will have limited time and
capacity, use it wisely. Finally take a stand if it comes to a crunch; after
all when things break only your neck is on the block !
No comments:
Post a Comment