In the wake of Hurricane Sandy, many enterprises with offices and employees based on the East Coast of the United States were forced to adopt a ‘work from anywhere’ mantra for a few days. And for many, smartphones and tablets, whether personal or employer sponsored, were the only thing keeping them connected to work and the outside world. This is a working example of the growing trend in consumerization, a desire for users to have similar technology experiences both at home and in the workplace, and the impact that the changing landscape is having on personal productivity in a global workforce.
Enterprises must learn to adapt to the changing communications landscape to ensure their workforces are productive and their data remains secure. When utilized correctly, consumerization can be beneficial to employees and customers, as it allows for more flexible working and the ability to connect at any time, from anywhere and on any device.
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If brick and mortar offices become a thing of the past as businesses deploy a more mobile workforce, the business challenge is to maintain and increase the personal productivity of remote workers by allowing employees to connect to company networks whether from home, a local coffee shop or various locations around the world. However, in order to protect sensitive company data and avoid mobile security threats, a rigorous quality control infrastructure that ensures data security is maintained in the system and throughout all operational process is required. And when you consider the significant security risks associated with sensitive data stored on mobile devices, mismanaged mobile strategies can be costly.
In recent months, a number of security breaches have taken place with popular services used by both consumer and corporate users on mobile devices, including Skype (News - Alert), Twitter and GoDaddy. It is for this reason that effective managed mobility is an integral portion of any telecommunications budget.
In addition to personal productivity, consumerization can play a key role in business continuity as the ability to offer alternate workplaces and safeguard data loss is a necessity to today’s global workforce. By employing a telecommunications management solution, organizations are given a defense against unforeseen risks that have to potential to disrupt the way employees’ access company data and the loss of sensitive information. With Gartner (News - Alert) predicting nearly two-thirds of enterprises will adopt a Mobile Device Management (MDM) strategy within the next five years, it is clear that organizations are beginning to understand the importance of mobile device regulation.
As Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) and similar consumerization trends continue to rise in popularity, enterprises implementing MDM are provided the control to define and enforce corporate security settings, configurations and policies. By gaining visibility and control of the telecommunications environment, organizations can maximize productivity and lower costs, in addition to effectively rolling out mobile strategies for flexible working and securing employee devices.
We are living in a mobile-first world with new devices and platforms being introduced in the blink of an eye. As business devices become smarter, so too must the organizations that want to get a handle on them. By enabling organizations and employees the freedom to work when, where and how they choose, telecommunications management removes the hassle of dealing with multiple devices, security risks, and IT headaches. Instead, organizations are provided a clear strategy to optimize productivity in a fully secure environment.