Editor’s Note: Welcome to our weekly Reality Check column. We’ve gathered a group of visionaries and veterans in the mobile industry to give their insights into the marketplace.
There is an intimate connection between people and their mobile device. It has been coined the “consumerization of IT” and it turns the topic of mobility into a very personal one. Our mobile devices have become an essential part of our lives. And according to a recent Pew Internet & American Life Project report entitled “Tablet and E-book Reader Ownership Nearly Double Over the Holiday Gift-Giving Period,” 29% of U.S. adults now own a tablet or e-reader. That’s up from just 2% less than three years ago.
This proliferation of more flexible devices plus an increase in the number of people working away from the office have led many to consider using their tablet or smartphone for work-related activities, especially those that are client-facing. How companies handle these devices in the work environment is a pressing issue that needs to be weighed carefully, considering both cost and security.
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There is a fairly standard set of security questions that a CIO should be asking when it comes to employees using their personal mobile device: What assets are in use? What do we need to do to protect our company data? Is our IP sufficiently protected? How do we manage the complexity of multiple mobile platforms in a single environment? How do we manage the bigger issue around governance and the wall between company and personal data? Many of these questions have been overlooked by organizations because companies have not yet properly assessed the risk that bring-your-own-device brings to their organization.
There’s no denying that things like mobility, social media tools, the cloud and big data can offer a broader and more powerful set of capabilities to a company’s employees, but organizations looking to allow BYOD as part of this toolset need to research their strategy thoroughly. Even though BYOD programs can cut costs and expand the flexibility of workers, the additional risk and operational burden they impose on organizations need to be considered as part of the true costs of BYOD programs, particularly in high-risk environments.
Fernando Alvarez leads Capgemini’s recently launched Mobile Solutions Global Service Line.
