Tips and Tricks for Managing the Mobile Workplace

As the line between office and home continues to blur, organizations find themselves facing a dilemma. While a mobile workforce can boost productivity, it has become a technological challenge. As one IT manager explains, “It became clear our corporate-owned, BlackBerry-only mobile policy was no longer fulfilling the mobile demands of our employees. As the consumer smartphone market matured, the demand to use other devices like iPads, and have the option to use their personal iPhone or Android devices for work, has grown significantly”. So how can IT departments successfully adapt to the BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) era?

• Put Security First -Glyn Owen of ITC services provider Damavo UK reminds IT departments that, “Currently, mobile security is often left in the hands of the end users, meaning that important company and personal data can be easily compromised if devices are lost or stolen.” This means that IT needs to be proactive when it comes to enterprise security. The first line of defense is the ability to block specific devices from the corporate network if a threat is detected. In addition, IT managers should deploy one of the many emerging MDM (mobile device management) software suites, particularly one with robust security tools and automated alerts.
• Manage the User, Not the Device – Steve Daly, CEO of LANDesk Software, says that mobile technologies have shifted the IT support paradigm, especially since employees are using multiple devices to access corporate networks. “The user is now the endpoint, not the device,” he asserts. This means, he says, that “solutions need to map data delivery not to a specific hardware asset, but first to the user and then, to all of their assets.” In addition, IT needs to be prepared to monitor employees’ usage of devices, and educate or discipline as needed.
• Choose MDM Vendors Carefully -If possible, choose a vendor who offers a full suite of MDM tools that can work across your entire network with a single user interface. Other preferred features include automated management of all endpoints, and the ability to support the broadest platform set possible in terms of mobile operating systems.

In a recent survey by Citrix Systems, 44% of IT organizations said that they have already established BYOD policies, and an additional 50% plan to have an active policy by mid-2013. Industry expert Nathan Marke, CTO at IT firm 2e2, confirms the need for urgency. “As enterprises wake up to the threat represented by unstructured corporate data being stored and accessed on mobile devices . . . this will require [them] to have a coherent strategy when it comes to ID management, access, anti-virus, anti-malware, anti-spyware, data backup and so on,” explains Marke.

The boom in MDM technologies also means a boom in jobs for those who can create and manage these in-demand tools. For more information about job opportunities in this area, or to find top candidates who have these skills, contact the IT recruiting specialists at Triumph Services today.