Mobile Device Management for Enterprise Mobility Solutions

[Josuva Ray]

The way we access and share information in business has evolved. Firstly, the bring your own device (BYOD) phenomenon is being embraced by enterprises the world over. According to Gartner vice president David Willis, “BYOD strategies are the most radical change to the economics and the culture of client computing in business in decades.” And with figures from Cisco highlighting that today’s employees carry on average 3.4 devices, its uptake is showing no signs of slowing down.

“Being able to use your own device is an essential part of business today: employees expect it,” says Mike Constantine, chief technology officer at GCI. “I’d go as far as to say that people find it difficult to work for companies that don’t allow it.”

In addition to this, organizations increasingly need to share information with external shareholders, suppliers, and customers. According to a recent Baseline report, at least a third of all data will pass through the cloud by 2020.

Get it right, and the benefits are huge. “Not only does an effective BYOD and file sharing policy improve worker access to information, but it also fosters greater collaboration and can significantly boost productivity,” explains Constantine.

But get it wrong, and there can be devastating consequences. “Without the ability to control access to sensitive information, enterprises are putting themselves at huge risk,” Constantine says. “A survey last year by Crowd Research Partners suggested that one-fifth of companies have had a mobile data breach at some point in their history. Equally as troubling, just 34% of companies routinely wipe sensitive data from employees’ devices when they leave the company. Given that when changing jobs many employees jump ship to a competitor, it’s a major concern that competitive information could end up in the hands of a rival.”