Companies Head for a Two-Phone BYOD World

Of course, it's not just a matter of confidential information.  Much of what we have here at IE is intended for publication, but we still need to secure things against, for example vandalism.

That's the whole point about Mobile Device Management -- you can wipe the devices remotely, but only those parts that have corporate data on them. The rest of the device -- games, music, personal stuff -- remains intact. This is also useful when employees leave a company -- you don't want them to continue to have corporate stuff on their devices, but you don't want to delete their music collections, either.

Other BYOD policies are more limited. For example, a company can provide access to hosted, password-protected corporate email systems -- even if the device is stolen, the information is secure. 

Some companies are offering virtual desktops, where users can take their mobile devices and sign into a version of their regular corporate desktop. A full version, for laptop users, or a stripped down version for smartphones. Again, if the device is stolen, the corporate data is still protected.

The point is that there are lots of ways to have BYOD and have security, as well.

And, for some companies, this is a non-issue.

For example, if someone hacked into my company's work computers or email, there wouldn't be much confidential information there. In fact, if you wait a few weeks, everything we're working on will turn up in print somewhere or other, anyway. The level of security required depends on what, exactly, the employees are working on. 

The downside to that is supporting all these external devices represents a support nightmare (or a best effort). What happens when the  user gets his personal phone infected and it has to be wiped? Are the users required to sign an agreement stating that they could lose their personal data on those devices in the event it has to be wiped for security reasons? It just sounds like a needless minefield that is being entered for no other reason than that of a few peopel who willfully violate acceptable use policies because they don't like the company provided devices. Corporations are risk averse by nature and I can't see a 65% uptake by large organizations...a lot of these shops are still running Windows XP because its stable and manageable. It just feels like so much hype and hyperbole to me...

I don't disagree that end user have to some extent been bypassing  corporate IT and doing so in violation of acceptable use policies (in most cases). The problem as I see it is that this is being done at the peril of corporate data and overall network security. that and it needs to be managed to maintain the integrity of the network and its data. the reason that RIM was so successful was the management capabilities that it brought to the table. Anyone who seeks to replace them will need to bring something similar otherwise I fear we will start hearing about more than a missing laptop with sensitive data falling into the wrong hands...

There are management tools available that work on any device that isolate corporate data, allow for remote wiping of just the corporate stuff, or allow secure remote access to corporate applications.

It's called Mobile Device Management (MDM) and there are a number of vendors offering it.

A recent survey shows that 65% of organizations plan to have BYOD by end of the year:

http://www.maas360.com/maasters/blog/mobilitymanagement/to-byod-or-not-to-byod-most-organizations-no-longer-question/

There are several reasons for this:

* Lower costs for companies -- employees typically already own their own devices (though some companies will help cover part or all of the cost)

* Increased employee satisfaction. Folks get to use the devices they already know and like.

* No need to carry two devices, one for work and one for personal use. 

That's interesting Gragg.  I thought we'd been witnessing the phenomenon of users bypassing enterprise IT, when it comes to configuring enterprise devices, as well as BYOD, but it seems you disagree?

What end users like/what only carries the issue  so far...Whichever platform allows IT to manage its assets best will win and so far Apple hasn't been too inclined to allow anyone to manage its devices. Security of corporate data will win the day and the way to secure that data is to have device management in place for all devices  accessing network data.

As for teenagers, seldom do they influence corporate America unless of course its a new advertising campaign targeting them.

Would the Samsung Galaxy SIII/SII be where it is, without Android? (maybe with Windows OS). 

Do you think Windows would consider dropping their OS and switch to Android?

Absolutely right, Jabailo. They will merge ever more with out environments.

I think your analysis is spot on.  For IT I don't think this is a bad thing.

Whether you are supporting internal staff or supporting external products (websites, SaaS, apps) the fewer the number of operating systems - the easier it is for IT.

IT benefits from innovation - like Apple out innovating Blackberry.  But after the initial innovation cycle, IT benefits from the weak fading away and the strong allowing ofr a period of standardization.

You can hate Windows, but imagine the world of IT if there were 8 operating systems competing for desktop ownership!