Tag Archives: BYOD

Digital Innovation – the non-stop next generation

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Mobile, Cloud computing, Smartphone Apps, 4G, M2M, the Internet of Things, Generation Y – we have had to adjust our thinking and behaviour to all sorts of new technological terminology in recent times. The thing is, when you sit down and look at them all together, they pretty much fall under one umbrella expression – digital innovation.

Innovation as a word tends to get thrown about all around the place in business, but in the IT industry it has real tangible meaning. Technological advancements tend to be about genuinely disruptive trends which come along and change the game, that really transform the ways we have been used to doing things. Without digital innovation we might have stopped at broadband ADSL connections and decided that version of ‘being online’ would suffice. As it is, technology companies and entrepreneurs have kept on pushing the envelope, finding out first what was possible, then developing it, and often only then discovering where it could have a big impact.

The impact of continuing digital innovation cannot be overstated. Traditional business models have quickly become outdated, social platforms are now massively influential, knowledge has effectively become a commodity and data has increased rapidly in value – and this is really only the beginning.

Digital trends driving digital change

Right at the vanguard of digital innovation is the individual. In the early days of technology the trends tended to be set by manufacturers in terms of what they were able to design and produce. Today the end-user is the enabler, and the consumer is often more tech-savvy than the company.

The rise of digitisation can be felt in so many places. Consider Machine to Machine (M2M) communications and the Internet of Things (IoT) as a starting point – connected cars, smart homes and connected consumer electronics are all set to become the norm. Digital currencies like Bitcoin have gone mainstream.

Data is at the core of this technological, cultural and social shift. We now create and utilize data in almost mind-numbing amounts – consider that there were estimated to be around 183 billion emails sent per dayin 2013, and that Twitter users send over 500 million tweets per day. All this data is informing the way companies operate, with analytics tools helping them to change the way they plan, develop and take to market new products and services.

The knock-on effect of digital innovation on commerce in general can be felt in the way that borders no longer seem relevant. The online nature of business and consumers going mobile means that trade is anywhere and everywhere – in a world of no borders, international expansion becomes easier than ever. The restrictions that existed pre-digital no longer apply. So once again we come to the disruptive nature of technology, how it always changes the game – where once organizations and industries thought capital-first and needed CAPEX in place to begin ambitious expansion plans, today digitally-enabled business models mean they can source and engage with customers in entirely new, cost-effective ways.

Every aspect of modern life

Here is where I really enjoy evaluating digital innovation, seeing where it has impacted modern living – because the answer is ‘everywhere’. Consider how we work today – mobile. How we consume entertainment, such as video and music – mobile, streamed, High Definition, using state of the art Bluetooth and mobile enabled devices connected to wireless HiFi sound systems with full-bodied sound. When exercising, our fitness regimes can be tracked, analysed and improved by mobile devices connected to apps on our smartphones. Digital innovation affects and informs so much of what we do and gives us more control over it too.

No sign of slowing – only growing

The incredible speed of digital innovation is in evidence all around us. Five years ago the best HD TVs on the market had screen resolutions of 1080 x 1920 – today that is the resolution of a five-inch screen smartphone. Wearable technology used to be the preserve of science-fiction movies, but today is a reality – sales of wearable tech are predicted to hit 125 million devices by 2017, as wearable experiences similar innovation-powered growth to that of the mobile apps market did.

Looking back to the birth of smartphone apps, they came along and grew in popularity at an incredible pace. Product development in the digital space is dynamic and app developers do not wait around – so software is evolving fast and constantly. And this is all being powered by end-user demand – the digital consumer today wants it their way, wants it to work fast and mobile, and wants it now. It is this imperative that is forcing the IT industry to go at such a pace, to innovate all the time and always be looking for that next killer app or must-have device.

The real world impact and what’s next

Digital innovation is now simply part of life. It powers much of our daily routine and impacts economically too – it is estimated that $10 to $15 trillion growth in GDP is generated by technology innovation around the world. In 2014 and beyond it will continue to enhance industries like health, education, transport and more. The future really is now.

Gordon Makryllos

The Cognitive era is here as Devices get Smarter

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Devices are getting smarter, faster and increasingly cognitive. All around us we see the continuing rapid evolution of electronic devices, both mobile and fixed, into the next generation of tools that will help us live our lives differently.

As smart devices go on advancing in their capabilities, it’s fair to project that devices will eventually advise us on how we dress, what we eat for dietary requirements, our physical fitness and more – there is even a smart toothbrush available now which communicates with an app on your smartphone to advise you on optimum plaque removal when brushing.

We are now in the era of apps that think and interact with their users. Think of voice-activated apps like those which help us navigate our smartphones to which we give specific commands – and applications are only going to continue gaining intelligence. So as devices and apps evolve, so too the operating system needs to evolve with them. Which brings us to cognition-as-a-service (CaaS).

CaaS will be the platform that enables these increasingly intelligent apps. CaaS is effectively the next generation of the Semantic Web – an operating system which is capable of communicating with intelligent devices and apps on their terms.

Powered by the cloud

The truth is that within a couple of years we will probably no longer be talking about ‘the cloud’ as we currently understand it or as if it is something new or advanced. The cloud will simply be ‘IT’ – because so much of what we do will be hosted in and take place in the cloud.

An example of a cognitive app to come would be your daily calendar – your calendar which you use via your smartphone or tablet will effectively operate as your P.A. and will manage your time and activities like a secretary. However, the intelligence itself that powers this cognitive app will be provided by a cognitive platform which lives in the cloud.

These cloud-based cognitive platforms will be the true intelligence that fuels this next generation of apps. The cloud is where the Internet of Things (IoT) lives, and the IoT and its vast array of machine-to-machine (M2M) communication will also be powered by this intelligent platform.

Everything in your daily life is set to become smarter. Phones, TV, the connected car, the smart home, the networked fridge that restocks your groceries without you having to open its door – not to mention wearable technology like smart glasses, clothing and watches. All of these will be powered by intelligence delivered by APIs through the cloud as apps and everyday things grow to be cognitive.

Examples are already in place around the world. There is a new artificial intelligence which can read CAPTCHA images online, while e-health is being powered forward by projects which deliver virtual healthcare assistants through the cloud. These are just a couple of examples which predict the need for platforms that can support more intelligent apps and manage them automatically.

Yet another XaaS model

The growth in popularity of the as-a-Service (XaaS) model cannot be overstated. XaaS brings multiple benefits in both CAPEX and OPEX terms, since it carries with it far lower set-up costs than traditional IT product based solutions and its on-demand nature means that running costs are set on the user’s terms.

XaaS, and in time CaaS, will continue to deliver the same benefits. This continuing cost-control model delivers a more managed total cost of ownership (TCO) and reduces risk overall.

So why CaaS?

What CaaS delivers is that next step that the Semantic Web didn’t quite reach – it will enable APIs in the cloud to operate intelligently and empower developers to use quickly and easily. CaaS providers will be cheap, scalable and accessible, and what makes CaaS so different and powerful is that the cognitive qualities are ingrained in the operating system itself – meaning that so too are all the apps on it. The scope that CaaS presents is huge, bringing cognitive, highly intelligent and intuitive apps to users on a global scale.

The security implications

Because CaaS will be cloud-delivered, the nature of security threats surrounding it will continue to change too. Hackers and phishers, always looking for new ways to extract valuable data, remain creative and go on developing new angles and methods of attack.

So while the CaaS era will bring numerous benefits to mobile users, security professionals are going to need to be as mindful as ever of the threats to data breaches and data loss. API keys can of course be useful tools to the enterprising hacker, and denials of service and account hijacking are both hazards that exist via this route. By securing the platform and working as hard as possible to close potential loopholes, the era of the CaaS next generation operating system powering the apps, devices and habits of the future can be one that will create new industries and new digital giants that will grow from unexpected quarters.

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Seven technology predictions for 2014

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The year 2014 will be where current trends will accelerate the transformation already underway in how we consume information and do business and live. Organisations will need to evaluate their information strategy to take advantage of the emerging opportunities.

Here are seven trends to consider in the New Year:

Trend # 1 – the era of personal cloud

The cloud has exploded in popularity over the past few years, as companies exhaust backup, storage, network, security, and management systems. Consumer awareness of cloud storage is now increasing and usage is following suit.

Despite concerns that many industries have about cloud storage ability and their willingness to keep information secure, consumers will have little choice but to keep more information on these systems as opposed to their hard drives.

The push for more personal cloud technologies will shift toward services and away from devices. As mobile applications crowd the market, personal cloud services will become the new hub for content.

The risk for organisations is that being a consumer and being an employee is separate, but will the use of personal cloud be? Will someone taking a Friday off to work from home save documents to their personal cloud, which has different security measures to the organisations cloud, and put at risks the secrets of the new client pitch or new product development?

For 2014: Consider how personal and organisational cloud will interact for your business. Could they be at loggerheads before you have time to prepare your policies and inform your employees accordingly?

Trend # 2 – biometric authentication to replace passwords

Long gone are those days where a single password acted as a secure means of authentication. Today, a basic password takes minutes, if not seconds to break through. A string of characters can no longer keep your accounts and devices secure.

When was the last time you created a new password? As you were typing it in did a bar on the right hand side tell you whether it was weak, medium or strong? How many upper case letters or numerals did you include? Did I use the dog’s name or my favourite summer holiday spot for my internet banking password?

We are in the age where each and every person needs a little black book for their infinite passwords. But what happens if we lose the book?

The rapid proliferation of new devices has created additional security requirements for organisations attempting to increase its presence in the online market.

For enterprises that have not revisited their authentication strategies in several years, it may be time to take a fresh look. As identity becomes the driving force behind new security paradigms, biometric authentication will become the new practice as fingerprint and eye retinal scans become a part of our everyday activity.

For 2014: Be prepared! Adopt a security strategy built on advanced authentication techniques that will manage user access. Encourage regular password updates and educate your employees on what a strong password looks like. No dog names allowed.

Trend # 3 – out with the old and in with the new: embedded technology

Embedded systems are part of our daily lives. Can you imagine your life today, without a smart phone for communication?

2014 will see an uptake in embedded technology as the pressure will be on to add more intelligent functions into devices. The technology that initially drove mobile phones is now driving the adoption of smart devices. Touchscreens, smaller gadgets, and high performance sensors are just some of these innovations.

Wearable technology is a trend that will embrace the workforce. It is already starting. There will be more productivity apps in wearables as medical professionals begin using devices that overlay images on goggles. Google Glass is just the beginning, with other inventions to monitor, anticipate and feedback, well on their way.

For 2014: Anticipate the evolution of everyday products as technology becomes cheaper, smaller and more energy efficient. Technology will lead to automated homes, intelligent automobiles, smart buildings, and ubiquitous measure / control systems. How can your business embrace and jump on board?

Trend # 4 – go mobile or go home

The bring-your-own-device (BYOD) trend has completely changed the way businesses work. Executives using devices such as smartphones and tablets to access the corporate network is quickly becoming ubiquitous with an uptrend in remote working.

According to a report by Gartner, 70 per cent of mobile professionals will conduct their work on personal smart devices by 2018. The increase in mobile devices will challenge technology and finance departments as they try to manage mobile devices. But what type of personal smart device? Where are the tablet / smart phone headed? We are at the beginning of what the future world of personal smart devices might look like. If left unmanaged, BYOD can lead to data leaks and loss of control, which could potentially result in legal penalties.

With BYOD, the genie is out of the bottle as users expect to be online in more places at high speeds and with robust security levels. With the right solutions in place, BYOD can create new exciting opportunities.

For 2014: Create a clear policy around BYOD strategies that encompasses enabling secure, trusted, and convenient access. Be sure to implement a security model that has minimal impact on an employee’s experience, whilst maintaining the same security standards that your organisation upholds.

Trend # 5 – do more with less: the future is in M2M technology

Machine-to-machine’ (M2M) communication has given businesses the capability to monitor, control, or manage the operation of remote equipment. Today, M2M services have entered a renaissance period, playing a significant role as new products communicate with each other wirelessly without any human intervention.

This deregulation in the market will eventually garner new opportunities making it possible to map and monitor an entire system of remote hubs which could be anything from a building to a vehicle, to a fully armed security system.

The Internet of Things will enable devices to communicate with each other, while working out problems without interference. For instance, an M2M device will be able to automatically control the temperature of an air conditioner, while switching it on or off when required. These core capabilities will reduce error, save time, increase efficiency, and generally optimise the performance of any physical system.

For 2014: Maintain a strong and clear position in the market by developing plans and procedures that incorporate M2M technologies NOW rather than later. Prepare your organisation for change.

Trend # 6 – the new age of apps

With the continued growth and inescapable presence of BYOD, individuals have the capability of accessing all sorts of applications and information they need using their own devices anytime and anywhere.

Consumers are more technologically savvy and flock to app stores linked to their mobile platforms and devices while companies are investing in apps almost every day.

From 2014 onwards, there will be an app for almost everything, from everyday bills to mobile banking and much more. Something as simple as karaoke, which used to be entertained in restaurants is now a downloadable app. The same applies to music, where consumers can listen to unlimited songs using the appropriate app. This innovation will continue to increase, with the app market expected to reach $38 billion in just two years.

Propriety apps will become common, as more and more employees create and develop apps that support their business.

For 2014: Consider individual user’s needs for mobility, and get involved in the discussion. Organisations need to adapt their digital marketing campaigns to fit the small screens and the evolution of the app world.

Trend # 7 – the social dimension where everything is shared

We have reached a new communication age where social media is well established. Today, technology has enabled us to profile any individual or business by simply tapping into the material available online on social networks. Facebook itself has approximately 1.19 billion active users and roughly 507 million daily active mobile users, while twitter has roughly 554 million active registered users, with approximately 58 million tweets a day.

With the popularity of social networks it becomes easier to share information across the globe with a simple click of a button. This takes on a new level of urgency as organisations shift from an information age to a communication age. Facebook itself revealed what is known as “frictionless sharing”, which automatically posts updates on your page from everything you listen to, read or watch.

The concept of 3D printing is another trend that will explode the marketplace in 2014 and will assist in local and custom fabrication. New competition will enter the market using 3D Printers to challenge business models. Users will take advantage of new paradigms in replicating products, designs, and devices.

For 2014: Be careful with what information you disclose and to whom you disclose this too. Businesses need to pay close attention to ensure that all information or objects shared are subject to copyright or is trade market protected.

2014 will see an uptake in the adoption of smart technologies, innovative devices, and a plethora of cloud applications. With new technologies seemingly always on the horizon, keeping a hold over IT systems is becoming increasingly complicated. It is therefore important that businesses embrace the new trends and prepare for the opportunities ahead.

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Technology predictions for 2014 & beyond

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predicting technology futures – what’s in store for 2014?

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2013 has seen a number of technologies enjoy varying levels of success and growth, with mobile devices, cloud computing and enterprise app stores all continuing to gain momentum. As I have written about throughout the year on this blog, these technologies have all had that disruptive business model impact which makes them popular and shakes up the existing landscape.

As we approach the end of 2013, I see no reason to expect 2014’s emerging technologies and trends to be any different. So what do we have to look forward to?

wearable technology and absolute mobility

Mobile everywhere and mobile for everything. 2014 will be the year that mobile is ubiquitous, smarter, faster and our reliance on mobile connectivity becomes absolute.

2013 saw the emergence of bring your own device (BYOD) as a mainstream concept, with end-users pretty much eschewing the notion of work/life balance and taking their smartphones and tablets into the workplace as a matter of course and taking their work on the move with them, presenting companies with new security challenges. But the trend will continue and 2014 will see users expecting to be online in more places than ever, at high speeds and with more robust security levels.

This increased mobility will continue to be driven forward by the latest advances in mobile devices, with wearable technology to the fore. The announcement that Burberry’s chief executive has just jumped ship to join Apple is a good indicator of how technology and fashion will merge over the coming year.Google glass, smartwatches and other wearable devices will all connect to the internet and each other through the Cloud like never before. And speaking of the connected planet. . .

the Internet of things goes mainstream

The internet is dead, long live the internet of things. There are now more networked devices and machines on the planet than there are people and 2014 will see still more devices, appliances and vehicles come online and begin communicating with each other.

The internet as we know it has already changed the world and many aspects of our daily lives. It has benefited businesses, individuals and nations, often helping to transform the way governments deliver education, health and social services and making information more democratically available. The internet of everything addresses the next generation of networked devices, with machine-to-machine (M2M) communications powering new ways of doing everything. Right now our phones and tablets are our most common networked devices, but the internet of things will see the networking of cars, homes, appliances, televisions, meters, indeed most electrical and electronic appliances and devices. There is even a company in the Netherlands that has helped a farmer to connect his cows.

Forecasts vary, but recent research projects that by 2020 there will be 75 billion ‘things’ connected to the internet and communicating with one another. 2014 will be the year that everything being networked goes mainstream.

hybrid cloud and XaaS model

2014 will see IT architectures continue to evolve and bring greater flexibility to companies and end-users. In previous blogs I have written about the future impact of cloud computing on various IT disciplines, notably procurement, storage and business continuity and even the role of the traditional CIO.

The cloud will continue to transform throughout the coming year, and the direction it will take will be that of hybrid cloud. Companies with private cloud architectures in place should be ready to embrace personal cloud and make the shift to the hybrid model. The hybrid approach gives organizations greater operational flexibility and optimized costs without compromising security. Network performance is improved too.

The ‘as a service’ (XaaS) model will continue to grow in popularity as well, as organizations adopt its agility and flexibility benefits while also recognizing that the OPEX model carries major advantages over the traditional CAPEX, investment-up-front approach.

software-defined architecture

Software-defined architecture will also come to the fore in 2014 – a practice whereby the software or the application defines the purpose of the device itself. This can be a storage device or a server, or a personal device such as the music boxes or wristband and apps that tracks how you sleep, move and eat—then helps you use that information to feel your best. The function defines the form.

The software-defined approach can help revolutionize the way we program, use and interact with devices because it makes them completely customizable. Devices of any kind will become defined by their apps, making them directly programmable, more agile, centrally managed and configurable and giving us greater control.

share, share and share again

End-users are now, thanks to the rise and rise of social media, so used to sharing that it is second nature. There are now 1.15 billion active Facebook users and over 288 million active Twitter users, all sharing thoughts, information, news, opinions and more, all the time. There have been more than 16 billion photos shared on Instagram. And this is just the beginning.

3-D printing is one area where the sharing of ideas and designs is going to take off in a big way in 2014 and beyond. Sales of 3-D printers are forecast to grow by 75 per cent in 2014, as the technology takes hold in the mainstream. 3-D printing could have a massive impact on many industries, not least the manufacturing sector. It represents a new way of sharing, with companies no longer needing to produce things the same way. For example one company or individual can come up with a design or bright idea one day and that design can be shared and copied tomorrow. Manufacturing, product development, design and prototypes – all of these disciplines could be hugely affected. This does of course present a challenge similar to that faced by the music and movie industries; when you have moved from the physical world to the virtual, and people are so used to sharing, how do you protect intellectual property? Innovative smart machines may be the solution to that. But that’s for another blog post.

Happy 2014.

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Mobility and the mobile workspace: the new demands on the CIO

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Technology, as we knew it, is no longer relevant. Every day we are bowled over with a new app, toy or technique. We are moving to a world of smart technology at a pace that is almost impossible to keep up with.

The era of “smart technology” spans the time of smart phones, 3D printers, and beyond. A recent survey by Forrester Research anticipates that shipments of wearable computing devices will reach almost 30 million units this year. This realm is undefined and endless, and relates to anything from items tracking physical activity, to Bluetooth connected watches and the much anticipated Google glasses. 3D printers, currently fitting the bill for the art world alone, are expected to cost less than some PC’s by 2016, at under $2000.00 US dollars. The possibility is endless.

And now, with tablets expected to outsell laptops this year, this mobility aspect is become less and less a preference or request but rather a demand of employees.

The role that consumerism and trend technology plays in driving business structures and styles can no longer be ignored. Gartner expects that 80 percent of organisations will support a workforce using tablets by the end of 2013. This expectation will have a flow on effect: whether organisations are supplying the tablets, or supplying the application and platform for a personal device to be used in a corporate manner.

Regardless of the process, the outcome is the same. Business is changing, and it is becoming increasingly difficult to keep up. The majority of organisations across the world, are not ready to house these technologies. The time has come for a new approach.

The context surrounding this change is also moving at what appears to be the speed of light. Faster broadband availability and the increasing availability of 4G networks will help enhance the way employees use mobile devices, and give further incentive to those considering investing in one.

From the perspective of the CIO, these new networks could redefine business practice and process, offering potentially game changing opportunities.

Working in parallel to these advances is the announcement of new privacy laws legislation. This herald’s big change on the horizon, changes that the CIO needs to understand and incorporate.

To throw a spanner in the works, let’s consider all of these advances in the context of the cloud.

Couple this with Gartner’s expectation that by 2014, 90 per cent of organisations will support corporate applications on personal devices, and you have a problem.

Data is now a defining factor. If the majority of employees start using devices, like tablets, to access both corporate applications and personal data and data security have the potential to spiral out of control. So pertinent questions are begging to be answered:

How safe is the cloud?
What is actually stored in the cloud?
How it is stored?

The list goes on. The combination of the growth in mobility and the continued dominance and reliance on the cloud means CIOs must start considering their organisational structure and if it can cater to this changing environment.

There is no time like the present to consider how to manage risk in the mobile cloud space – what privacy safe guards and good parameters are in place, and what needs to change.

1. Define your organisational policies in relation to Bring Your Own Device (BYOD)

BYOD is a phenomenon occurring in every organisation regardless of size and structure. You must assess whether or not BYOD can have a negative effect on your organisations workings – Is your bandwidth being compromised? Is it introducing large security risks to your network?

Your organisation may decide to ban BYOD and supply devices, or alternatively to create a more structured and regimented use of BYOD through the use of dedicated access points and tracking usage and activity.

Assessing current usage patterns and doing a cost analysis is a good step towards understanding employee and business requirements alike.

2. Assess network based security policies

This is especially relevant for companies who encourage the use of BYOD and don’t offer other devices. Setting these policies up can be difficult and time consuming, but it is an effective way of regulating consumer behaviours and enforcing some hard limits.

Often the issue with BYOD is that there is no limit defined, so building from the bottom up will allow you to gain an understanding of current usage, expectations, and develop a framework to cater these to the organisation’s security benefit.

3. Manage risk across multiple device platforms

Mobility trends encompass smart phones, tablets, PCs, laptops and the next generation of wearable computing devices, including items like the Jawbone UP system. This then becomes a multi-platform environment.

When your employees are reading emails on a smart phone, updating documents on a tablet, and downloading information on a laptop, there is inherent risk. For CIOs, managing risk becomes so much more difficult because each platform is different, and so each platform needs a tailored policy. Investigating and investing in a security policy that addresses all known device platforms will dramatically reduce risk and secure organisational information.

4. Controlling data on the cloud – centrally managing user accounts

Because the cloud is an essential storage device, you need to understand how to control the data you are storing. When you have multiple users in multiple locations moving in and out of your cloud, there is an increased likelihood that something could go wrong. You need to control the way your users can use the cloud, and what they can access. Your cloud service provider should allow you to manage user accounts, create shared folders to enhance collaboration, restrict access based on managerial level, and other tailored solutions to ensure a secure space when dealing with a mobile workforce.

5. Develop a policy plan and take control

The development of a security policy should be organic. After running through steps one through four – define, assess, manage and control – you should already understand what you need in your organisation’s policy.

Your policy should aim to minimise the use of rogue cloud usage by employees, ultimately reducing the likelihood of unfriendly events such as data leakage, malware outbreaks, or hacker theft. To be sure nothing slips through the cracks, develop a list of your top ten concerns, and then make sure these are addressed in your policy.

Some questions you might like to consider include: do we have an existing policy we need to adapt? Where is our data going to be stored? Does the service provider have any ownership of your data? What is the financial credibility of the provider? If things go wrong, what is our exit strategy?

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The magic of mobility vs the safety of security

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Mobility has become a key part of business operations in recent years. Smartphones and tablets have become an accepted part of everyday business as the workforce becomes more and more dispersed, with managers expecting their employees to remain connected and productive while they are away from the office.

However, rather than being issued a separate device, employees are increasingly using their personal devices for business purposes – opening a big can of worms around what is the appropriate level of security on a personal device used for work.

Next-generation opportunities

Basic applications such as email, calendaring and syncing contacts on smartphones or mobile access to CRM and ERP systems are just the beginning. Before long, companies will be deploying and utilising next-generation apps with consumer-like functionality – such as using GPS, the camera and social networks. For example, a marketing manager may snap a photo of a competitor’s billboard and tag it in a database for market research, or use social networks during a meeting to access information for reference or demonstration.

The real challenge for businesses is how to balance this revolution in technology and ways of working with the need to maintain organisational security. IT departments may want to disable camera functions on smartphones to protect data, or ensure that any data on an employee’s phone is encrypted, but users are unlikely to accept such major limitations on their personal devices.

Mobile Enterprise Challenge

In the past, most IT departments have tried to manage the increased complexity of mobile devices by limiting the number of platforms supported, such as only allowing a BlackBerry as a smartphone, or Windows laptops for computing. However, this approach is no longer particularly practical as the influx of consumer devices into the workplace continues to rise. Trying to force such a policy onto employees would likely result in poor adoption of the service.

So what is a business to do? All in all, the mobile enterprise needs the same support as offered to standard PCs. As mobile devices have become progressively more complex, they have the same issues as PCs, such as data security, data management and application support. Plus, with companies embracing more than just one mobile platform, the IT department will need to invest in tools that can manage devices powered by different operating systems. Typical mobile device issues that will need to be secured and managed include assets and settings, passwords, connectivity control and software deployments and updates.

Mobile strategies

Obviously, the biggest potential management headache for IT departments is security. Considering the average smartphone has 8GBs of memory, employees have enough potential to put a serious amount of corporate data at risk through a compromised device, or by losing it altogether.

Designing an appropriate security policy is crucial for mobile application deployment as it gives enterprises the platform and confidence to do so much more with their mobile strategy. There are three cornerstones of security that need to be covered when developing a mobile device strategy:

  • Confidentiality: ensure that data is not shown to the wrong people
  • Integrity: ensure that it is not possible to make unauthorised changes to either data or the system
  • Availability: ensure that the data is available at all times for authorised users.

Security tools also need to be able to support a range of activity such as patch management, keeping applications secure with no vulnerabilities, protecting against malicious code and blocking unauthorised device access to corporate resources. In addition, they also need to give the enterprise the ability to remotely lock or wipe devices and enforce the encryption of confidential data.

Taking the time to develop an appropriate mobility strategy is vital for enterprises. With the right protocols and security in place, employers and employees alike can reap the benefits of increased flexibility and efficiency.

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Security complexity threatens enterprises

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Information security is one of the biggest challenges facing enterprises this year. Being hacked by criminals is becoming depressingly familiar for a many businesses. A roll call of prominent brands has succumbed to what is an unprecedented number of attacks. Increasing threats, regulations and complexity have catapulted network security up the corporate agenda. Considering billions are being spent on cyber security each year, why are businesses continuing to fall victim to cyber attacks?

The changing dynamics of the workplace have led to increasing complexity of enterprise security. Employees bringing their own devices to work, escalating the growth of data and need for corresponding protection. The proliferation of new cyber threats, daily, and the sheer number of security solutions available make a chief information security officer’s job a formidable challenge. These are issues that need to be examined in greater detail.

Employees and BYOD

The consumerisation of technology has been one the biggest trends in recent years—one that shows no sign of abating. Consumerisation has brought a whole new range of devices into the workplace, often as part of a sanctioned Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) program. These additional devices can create security and management headaches for enterprises as they struggle to deal with the implications of securing corporate data. Employees using their own devices also create numerous additional access points to the network—leading to many more opportunities for cyber criminals to attack the enterprise network, as well as leading to greater potential for data leakage.

Data growth is rocketing

Exacerbating the impact is the explosion in data. Over the last five years, data on the internet has increased five-fold, to almost 2 zettabytes (billion terabytes) and this trend is likely to continue on an exponential scale in the foreseeable future. Video is one of the main culprits—in January 2012, YouTube reported that 60 hours of video were being uploaded every minute to the site, equating to more than 300,000 full-length feature films each week.

Aside from video, amidst this avalanche of data there is important confidential information such as legal documents, state secrets, company IP and healthcare data. The challenge for businesses is to identify what they are actually responsible for in this growing mass of information.

Compliance demands protection

Companies need to identify and protect confidential information—and not just to protect their own assets. An increasing raft of international regulations and legislation are demanding that enterprises show due care and diligence in protecting confidential information. This is an area that Australia is yet to cover in depth, but with the advent of more and more sensitive information going online—for example, healthcare—this will need to be addressed.

New threats daily

There are currently over 45 million different viruses in circulation, with over 2000 new ones appearing each day. The steady increase in threats, coupled with manyfold new vulnerabilities created by employees using their own devices for work purposes, means it is nearly inevitable that an enterprise’s defences will be overcome at some point. Businesses need to develop new methods and systems for protecting critical company information and sensitive customer data.

Solution overload, outsourcing and increasing cost pressures

The combination of rising threats in security, changing employee behaviour and increased regulation has led to myriad solutions being made available by vendors. The sheer scale and complexity on offer can make it confusing for businesses to know what to choose for optimum protection.

There is also an increasing disconnect between the budget available for security and the wide-ranging nature of the chief information security officer’s area of responsibility. Previously, security was only about being able to connect the network securely and safely. Now a CISO needs to be a business leader while also managing security policy, compliance, access and application security. Finding the right staff is also crucial, and the higher demand for IT specialists has created a skills shortage which is, in turn, driving the uptake of outsourced security services.

Businesses are looking to outsource their security needs to third party suppliers to utilise their specialist capabilities and knowledge which the business may lack internally. Managed security, from specialists, can better handle the complexities posed by increasing threats, regulation and costs, and can free up internal resources. It can also help simplify the business’s security controls, audit and reports—something that is vital for efficient compliance.

By taking complexity out of the equation, a business will be able to focus on developing its responses to security incidents, ensuring that its reputation does not suffer while also establishing itself as a leader in doing business securely. As we rapidly move into a mobile age, it is vital for business to adapt and grow with the times, or risk becoming a risk itself.

Original Publication