These days, virtually everyone has some sort of mobile device, whether it be a smartphone, tablet or laptop. Many have all three and a standard desktop machine to boot. And most workers want to use their personal devices to access their work email – at a minimum.
The bring-your-own device (BYOD) trend is a growing phenomenon, and for all the benefits it brings to workers and companies in productivity gains and cost savings, it also brings complications and frustrations in managing access and privacy for a myriad fleet of devices. IT departments are feeling the strain to keep a tight grip on sensitive company data while giving remote workers the access they want and need. The “BYOD 2.0: What Will Employees Think of Next?” Case Study U conference during the ITEXPO – taking place January 28-31 in Miami, Florida – will further explore how IT departments are implementing new policies regarding BYOD programs, and how the growing BYOD trend requires increased security protocols.
Research and Markets put the global market for identity and access management (IAM) at $5.13 billion last year, largely fueled by BYOD as well as mobility and adoption of complex cloud infrastructure. Even more telling though, is that the market is projected to reach $10.39 million by 2018, more than doubling over a five-year span. A Markets and Markets report puts an even bigger spin on the numbers, anticipating the total BYOD and enterprise mobility market will reach a whopping $181.39 billion by 2017.
All of this leads to the question of how enterprises can implement a successful BYO program that gives employees what they want, cost effectively, and simultaneously protects sensitive company data. California solution provider Moka5 specializes in managing BYO by securing the workspace instead of the end device. The company uses client virtualization on any end device to create containers that isolate the user’s workspace and work data from private data, apps and networks. This separation of personal and work data protects both the organization and the end user in a simple and highly cost effective installation.
Moka5 recently came up with some guidelines for companies struggling to implement an effective BYO program. According to the company, the primary objective of any BYOD or remote program is to establish trust with workers by being clear and specific about exactly what IT teams can see on employees’ devices. By clarifying those boundaries upfront, companies can eliminate unpleasant surprises moving forward and instill confidence in employees, who may be hesitant about installing work software on their personal devices.
Another important factor is creating security tiers so employees may adhere to a preferred level of security monitoring. Since everyone has different levels of comfort regarding surveillance, those preferences should be factored in when assigning access to tasks and information from a specific worker’s remote device. Employees can make sure everyone is happy by setting up limits based on consistently applied policies, ensuring employees use the right device for the proper task. This also ensures that both corporate security and employee privacy remain intact.
Finally, Moka5 believes that their approach of separating a workspace instead of an entire device is crucial to any BYO program. By establishing data containers to separate work from personal data, both employers and workers are assured of their security and privacy. Containers also clearly separate work data and applications from personal ones, creating a clear distinction about what will be managed by IT departments and what will be owned and managed by the remote worker.
