Most employees are now sporting computers in their pockets that rival the functionality of the laptops and desktops that their bosses have handed them. When deadlines loom and corporate IT systems are not flexible enough to get the job done fast, it is too tempting to have this computing power at the ready and free to use as is needed; an increasing number of employees are using their personal smartphones and tablets for work as needed.
The bring-your-own-device (BYOD) trend in the enterprise delivers some corporate benefits, but it also brings headaches: How to support such a wide range of devices? How to make them work with the corporate network? How to ensure business processes are followed?
Most important: How to keep corporate data secure? IT departments may have intelligent security measures in place on corporate-issued mobile devices, but BYOD devices usually are far more exposed.
The solution is mobile device management and similar services, and the market for these services is growing rapidly; the BYOD and enterprise mobility segment is expected to grow by a compound annual growth rate of 26.6 percent through 2019 according to a recent RnRMarketResearch.com report. This is good news for the likes of firms such as Compuware (News - Alert), which offer enterprise mobility solutions.
Despite the growing use of BYOD, many companies are still hesitant to embrace mobile enterprise management solutions.
“The major restraint in this market is the government and compliance issues and security risks associated with use of personal devices,” noted a statement by RnRMarketResearch.com, which recently issued its report on the state of the industry.
All this is true; there are major issues with employees using personal devices for work. Companies that delay addressing the trend only push the practice underground; employees are using personal devices whether or not such a practice is sanctioned by the office.
Instead of neglecting the BYOD trend, it is important to get out in front of it and have a way to deal with the security and other issues. Whether a large enterprise or a small business, work is being done on personal devices.
The emerging best practice for BYOD is having some form of mobile device management system that can be installed on user devices and then wall off corporate data. It is okay to use your personal device, this solution tells employees, but let us at least keep business data safe.
With a mobile device management solution, business data can often be wiped remotely from personal devices without touching the owner’s non-work-related apps and content. It also can deliver secure communications and corporate access to resources such as the company’s intranet via a virtual private network.
BYOD is not going away. Businesses need to recognize the trend and handle it accordingly. That’s why the enterprise mobility market has such positive estimates.
Edited by Rory J. Thompson