We’ve entered a new age of computing, and our collective user base has taken notice. In nearly every Corporation, employees from top level executives on down have begun to adopt mobile devices for use in the workplace, offloading functionalities such as email ---- As IT professionals, our main concerns revolve around reliability, security, and ease of management. Conversely, end users care about ease of use, cost, and design. Luckily, these needs can coexist, with one side effect: complexity. With so many different devices and solutions available, who should be expected to absorb the cost of complexity?
Recently, while demoing Windows 8 in our Enterprise, an executive came to me and said that he would prefer not to use a Windows 8 tablet device (for some users’ needs, including his, this may be true, but bear with me here); the reason being the Windows 8 tablet was “too complex”. For the industry as a whole, the mobile device trend represents a paradigm shift in complexity (and expectations of complexity) from the end user to the IT professional. Realizing this, there are a couple questions that should be asked:
Who should manage applications?
In the early days of mobile devices in the enterprise, users were completely on their own: Apple/Android were stuck downloading individual applications from their respective app stores, and Windows 7 tablet users had to choose which desktop applications were functional and touch-friendly. Now, with Windows 8, and modern Android and iOS, we have a few options:
Mobile Device Management
There are a few standalone solutions, like Meraki, MaaS, and 3lm, as well as lightweight solutions like Apple Configurator, or Private Channel for Google Play which allow preloading of apps, as well as license management.
Windows 8 Management
The good news is that, if your enterprise fully supports Windows 7, the move to Windows 8/RT is relatively painless. You can easily manage your clients using software such as Microsoft System Center, Nagios, and Symantec Ghost. You’re also able to achieve more basic management, and sideload apps to this platform using Windows Intune, the Microsoft Company Portal app, or for free (!) by using powershell cmdlets.
We can see that a lot of the workload has been removed from the end-user, and a lot of the decision making has been transferred to the IT professional. This is an area where it’s appropriate to eliminate complexity for end-users, as it results in a more seamless user experience, as well as fewer support calls and questions. The downside to increased management, especially in a BYOD environment, is reduced flexibility (like installing other apps, or linking other accounts to the device), so choose wisely!
Who should manage security?
Unfortunately, with the proliferation of mobile devices in enterprise, and the ease of accessing data on these devices, security is now an extreme concern. 113 smartphones are lost or stolen every minute in the United States1. Moreover, modern smartphones and tablets lack security features (like TPM and smart card) available on modern laptops. While there will always be complexity, there are a few ways to reduce security surprises:
Communication
Ease of use improvements make it easy to forget that end-users are carrying their lives around in hands. Effective communication is important when deploying mobile devices. Remind your user-base to keep their device secure, and to inform management when a device is lost! Literature when the device is delivered, email reminders, or even just standing up in a meeting can make the difference between a happy employee and an “identity crisis”.
Management
Built in to (most) MDM solutions are features designed to increase the security of your mobile devices. Once a user reports a stolen device, you have the ability to track, lock, or wipe the device immediately.
Platform Selection
As much as some IT pros may hate to admit it, some platforms are inherently more secure than others. Android, for example, has a few flaws that may make it less desirable in the Enterprise. Android applications tend to be less vetted and approved than Apple or Windows apps. Being open source, often there is little incentive for app developers to write secure programs, unless the service that it’s connecting to requires it. For companies that are BYOD, you may have less of a say, but you can mandate certain OS versions that include updates to patch vulnerabilities.
Security is a two way street between end-users and IT pros, being equally important for both groups. This is an area of complexity that has only grown as devices have become more popular for Enterprise use; and it is appropriate to offload some complexity to your end-users, as they have a deep involvement in this aspect.
Whose problem is it anyway?
At the end of the day, it’s our problem. IT professionals have been absorbing more complexity from management of mobile employees (after all, we can’t complain to the end-user when their phone doesn’t work!). Luckily, it’s possible to eliminate many of these headaches by understanding your environment and making good decisions. There are obviously many more questions to ask before considering a mobile device deployment. I intend this article to be food for thought, as a reminder to not under-think the deployment process. The mobile device segment has so much momentum that choices made now in the Enterprise will be felt much, much later; as more and more end-users adopt this new way to connect and work.
Have you experienced a shift in complexity from mobile devices? Have you recently been involved with a mobile device deployment? Let me know in the comments!