It’s Not Business – It’s Personal: Blurring the BYOD Divide
The BYOD Divide- IT used to be concerned about securing their corporate network, computers, and the data stored on them. The move towards portable laptops and notebooks represented a huge shift in IT’s thinking – allowing critical assets and information to physically leave the company’s 4 walls! It was also a huge shift in user thinking – a computer was no longer just a business tool but a personal tool as well. Personal-use laptops and notebooks are as common today as landline telephones were 25 years ago. The BYOx strategy embraced by many leading companies is driven by that recognition as well as the fact that getting IT out of the end-user hardware purchase and support business is sound business – as long as security and compliance policies are worked out from the start. Now, with the massive growth in smartphone and tablet technology within the consumer market, IT departments have a new challenge…”how do we secure personal, mobile devices?” The biggest challenge that I see is with personal privacy – and how IT departments choose to position themselves. Will they align with the employee or force unwanted corporate policies and heavy-handed management infrastructure upon them? This is the BYOD Divide.
Clearly separating personal and work environments from within a single device, effectively minimizing how many devices an employee has to bring to work is now the main goal. Why? Simple…because it’s what employees want. People are tired of carrying two laptops, two phones, and a tablet for a two day trip. Field reps don’t want to carry a laptop when they could just carry a tablet. But, to date, the kinds of management tools available to IT cripple device performance to such an extent that they become virtually unusable. Why? Because these device management technologies use the same model as endpoint computer management – control and lock down the device and you’ll discourage bad behavior and protect your network.
The difference today is that devices are disposable. Any attempt to manage and protect the device is wasted effort and will not ultimately prevent security exploits or network infection. If organizations are going to reap the rewards that a BYOx/mobility strategy can bring, IT needs to reassess its priorities. The bottom line is that Data is constant, and needs to follow the user wherever they may find themselves and consumed in the most secure manner possible. By focusing on universal and secure data access, MokaFive is continually closing the divide between IT and employees, business and personal.
What are your thoughts? How do you think you can best secure your environment and let your employees use the devices they want? We’d love to know your thoughts below!
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