When adopted correctly, BYOD lets employees make improvements at the speed of business. But 47 percent of IT departments either do not support or strictly prohibit the use of personal devices for business transactions, including email, document manipulation or review, customer relationship management, or enterprise resource planning, according to a study commissioned by Ciscoand conducted by Forrester Research.
Why, you ask, would almost half the firms involved in this study prohibit or inhibit something with such a potential bottom-line impact? They're obviously concerned with risks, which can be significant if an organization adopts BYOD poorly or without an eye toward potential problems.
Unprotected data
Cisco said more than 70 percent of those participating in the study "have deployed applications that enable employees to view documents, spreadsheets, or presentations." Every day, I use my Kindle Fire to view PDFs and other presentation-related information. Having a library of locally held information in my hand is a huge plus. The risk here is that my mobile, handheld device may hold sensitive information.
Cisco said more than 70 percent of those participating in the study "have deployed applications that enable employees to view documents, spreadsheets, or presentations." Every day, I use my Kindle Fire to view PDFs and other presentation-related information. Having a library of locally held information in my hand is a huge plus. The risk here is that my mobile, handheld device may hold sensitive information.
When considering a BYOD strategy, IT leaders must understand what information their users need in order to be more productive and whether that data should be stored offline. It comes down to document management and manipulation. What data is needed, and how can you keep it safe? Understanding encryption, two-factor authentication, and multi-homed data options (like Dropbox) is pivotal. To protect data, you must know when it was accessed and who viewed it. How would your proposed BYOD policy handle the challenges of document access and change management?
Insecurity
Two-factor authentication, biometrics (via face, voice, or fingerprint), location tracking, and time stamping all involve reporting. Understanding the reporting guidelines for your industry and providing executives with digestible reports about who is accessing what data when, how long the access lasts, and whether the data is being changed are critical.
Two-factor authentication, biometrics (via face, voice, or fingerprint), location tracking, and time stamping all involve reporting. Understanding the reporting guidelines for your industry and providing executives with digestible reports about who is accessing what data when, how long the access lasts, and whether the data is being changed are critical.
Information does your business no good if it is unavailable. Data just wants to be used; that is the first rule of information management. Understanding how audit management and reporting works with your edge security solution is of prime importance when crafting a BYOD strategy.
Lack of support
Integrating a wide range of users into a standard solution is always a support challenge. BYOD presents a complex set of challenges in the support arena.
Integrating a wide range of users into a standard solution is always a support challenge. BYOD presents a complex set of challenges in the support arena.
The carrier of choice for your implementation already has a support model, and you must conduct due diligence with your carrier/provider. Smoothly integrate your carrier's support model into your IT department's path to resolution, ensuring a smooth adoption curve with your users. Any solution, no matter how elegant, will fail if your users are not empowered with the proper support and path to resolution. Many times, the users with the most market exposure (such as C-level executives, sales, and customer support) present the biggest integration and support challenges.
Leverage your integration partner's support model. This is possibly the biggest and most often ignored aspect of BYOD failure. Traditionally, corporate IT wants to mold a rollout to fit internal support and path to resolution models. Modification and compliance not only lower costs but also increase the user's passion about the new business tool in their hand.
Costs
Organizations must strike a balance between device adoption, hardware purchases and upgrades, and device support of new and needed software. Making the right choice about hardware and software is important, but cost is always a factor. Saving 10 percent on hardware but shouldering an increase in licensing costs, application support, or user needs in the field is a net loss. Costs are not always represented in hardware purchases.
Organizations must strike a balance between device adoption, hardware purchases and upgrades, and device support of new and needed software. Making the right choice about hardware and software is important, but cost is always a factor. Saving 10 percent on hardware but shouldering an increase in licensing costs, application support, or user needs in the field is a net loss. Costs are not always represented in hardware purchases.
Make sure you monetize all the components of your BYOD implementation, including initial hardware and software costs, support, upgrades, vendor and carrier compliance, and governance and risk analysis. All these components hit the bottom line sooner or later as either lost revenue or banked expenses.
Compliance requirements
Governance is a big deal. As digital privacy laws change and e-commerce oversight becomes more prevalent, IT is increasingly held to task. Understanding how governance applies to your industry and the potential risks involved with BYOD is vital.
Governance is a big deal. As digital privacy laws change and e-commerce oversight becomes more prevalent, IT is increasingly held to task. Understanding how governance applies to your industry and the potential risks involved with BYOD is vital.
Governance must be a part of the due diligence and planning surrounding your BYOD implementation. Should this task not be taken seriously, the implications for IT leadership are severe. Missing a compliance issue involving information sharing and data manipulation will lead to IT leaders submitting their resumes and lining up interviews. I think the current term is being outplaced.
The stark reality is simple. BYOD is coming. Having a head in the sand won't work.
The life and death of your company may very well pivot on your people's ability to make good, informed decisions. They need information that is available in many places and in many forms. The hiptop device, currently embodied by the iPhone, Droid, and myriad tablets, may allow for some innovative approaches to historic business challenges.
Ignoring BYOD is not an option. Do the due diligence, and adopt a plan. Your users are anxious to see what you have for them. Do not miss the opportunity to let IT shine within the framework of a great BYOD implementation.
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