The need to be in sync with 24x7 connectivity

The mobile workspace has made digital nomads out of many of us as technology puts our office at our fingertips. Business apps, collaboration tools and unified communications help to create the ‘always on’ office, wherever we are.

One billion smartphones were sold globally in 2013 and in the Gulf, smartphone penetration and usage levels are some of the highest in the world. In 2014, IDC predicts sales of smartphones and tablets will continue to dwarf those of PCs, with tablets and smartphones outselling PCs by about 2.5:1. A workstation or workspace is no longer simply a cubicle and a PC — It’s also (and above all) a mobile or any other device within reach, including the family tablet. It’s called consumerisation and it will accelerate — new services drive replacement rates devices and the shift from ‘cutting-edge’ to legacy can be as fast as six months. By 2015, 16 per cent of tablet sales will be commercial, which means BYOD (bring your own device) will be with us for a while.

Employees expect the same level of functionality at work as they have at home, stating: “My corporate device is outdated; I’d rather use my personal smartphone to access work mail”. In France, 86 per cent of young workers who are about to enter the workforce expect to be equipped with corporate mobile devices. Flexible working conditions are also particularly important for the younger generations: 96 per cent expect a choice on where to work and 83 per cent when to work.

Today, 63 per cent of employees work from a mobile device at least once per week. About 40 per cent use at least three different devices throughout the day. And over 16 per cent telecommute. New mobility is chipping away at traditional place and time constraints, upsetting work habits. Businesses must adapt to this technological and cultural revolution.

Own-device policies

Employees continue to bring personal devices into the workplace and access corporate networks, applications and data. While there are benefits with increased staff morale and productivity, the costs, security and compliance risks are causing enterprises to think about their ‘own-device’ policies. And, with a choice of three approaches currently available, they are also asking what level of control and management they need in order to enjoy the benefits.

Bring your own device first appeared as a concept nearly half a decade ago as workers began taking personal smartphones and tablets into the workplace, and the practice has evolved ever since. BYOD was seen as both a blessing and a curse and demanded a whole new approach to technical support from the IT department.

To minimise risk, organisations need policies that enable choice and improve productivity but do not compromise security — in short, they need more control. It’s now much more about a professional versus personal ethos, irrespective of who is actually providing the device.

Some organisations have tried to curb BYOD. This has led to the rise of ‘here’s your own device’ (HYOD) and ‘choose your own device’ (CYOD) — structured variations on BYOD.

HYOD is essentially modelled around the traditional way in which companies provided staff with work PCs, according to job grade and the level of mobility they needed. Suddenly, mobile devices allocated by businesses became fully-fledged computing platforms in their own right. Once iPhone and Android devices hit the procurement ‘list’ offered by providers, the game really changed.

HYOD provides a framework for users to use devices out of the office and for personal use. It’s popular (free devices) and staff can go to corporate IT support with any problems.

CYOD falls between the ‘free-for-all’ of BYOD and the company-mandated device of HYOD. Essentially, companies create a list of devices from their preferred supplier and the employee can choose. So, IT can limit the range of devices it supports, which is a key factor; Gartner has said that although Android devices might be the largest consumer device platform with 70 per cent global share, it is Apple’s iOS platform that dominates in the enterprise.

When we talk about ‘own-device’ security, it’s now more about IT no longer being in control of the platform and procurement not being in control of the contract. So companies are attempting to put controls back on devices they didn’t specify in the first place.

Companies need to look at two key areas to control the information and cost flows around their own-device programs. Expense management is one area, where mobile workers can risk running up huge data roaming bills if their devices are not properly controlled, while mobile device management (MDM) policies are essential to partitioning devices for business purposes.

Most important is to put the right controls in place, irrespective of the device approach you choose. Containerisation, progressive MDM solutions, firewalled app development, all help address regulatory requirements and ensure data security.

It’s the app that’s important, not the platform. Companies need to ask ‘what’s the best way of rolling it out?’ If you only need calendar and email, then ActiveSync does the job, and you just need the platform. But for accessing vital data on a device that can be left in a taxi, you probably need a different approach.

— The writer is country manager for Saudi Arabia, Orange Business Services, and managing director of Orange Business Arabia.