Developing Acceptable Use Policies and Mobile Security Policies
The rapid deployment and adoption of mobile devices has led to a very real need for Acceptable Use Policies and Mobile Security Policies. In my first blog post in this series, I will be discussing key points in developing policies around mobile devices and will give specific examples of language that I have seen used in employee communication of these policies.
Consider the enforcement
Any policy written isn’t fully useful if it isn’t enforced and reiterated. All users should know the policies upon hire. Also, keeping the policies relevant by communicating them on a regular basis is important. These policies should be treated the same way that HR policies are developed and referenced.
What to Consider when Building a BYOD Strategy
In my last blog, I touched on the first part of crafting a BYOD program: define your goals, assess your risk tolerance, and identify the key stakeholders in your program’s development.
The next step? Build your strategy. Here are a few things to consider:
Determine who will be allowed to bring their own devices
Many companies choose to slow roll BYOD, enabling only certain groups of employees in the first round and then opening it up to more employees at a later date. This allows them to test the waters before they dive right in.
Bye-bye $200K Cell Phone Bill
OMG was my first reaction when I read an article about a man ringing up a $200K cell phone bill. The man is deaf and mute. He uses his cell phone as his primary way of communicating. He didn’t know about roaming charges and got hit for roaming on 2000 text messages and countless video downloads. Here is the article for your reference.
So think about the liabilities companies face today with employees using their corporate or employee-owned mobile devices for both work and personal use. Many companies pay for their employees’ mobile phone usage charges, how do they protect themselves from misuse or abuse and ultimately limit their financial exposure?
Cloud stirring mobile demand, and vice versa
Anyone with an eye on the technology industry can see that cloud computing and mobile devices are two of the biggest trends unfolding in the enterprise space right now. Separately, the two are making waves. But combined, the impact of cloud computing and mobile technology has the potential to be enormous.
The flexibility benefits of both technologies are clear. The cloud affords businesses the ability to access data, applications, storage, and resources from virtually anywhere. This has tremendous advantages in terms of increase productivity and business efficiency.
The cloud and MDM: Helping businesses help themselves
For businesses, mobility is the gold rush of today, with many looking to get smartphones into the hands of their employees as quickly as possible. By now, we’ve all heard about the inevitable risks of consumerization of IT, and the importance of mobile device management to get the most value out of enterprise mobility.
So now, businesses are preparing for the technology, putting most of their efforts toward weighing their options on smartphones. Sure, mobile device management is a consideration, and many believe that as long as they have any MDM solution in place, they’ve covered all the bases.
Consumerization of IT: Have your cake and eat it too
We can probably all agree by this point that smartphones have been good for business. And not just smartphones – tablets, Facebook, Twitter – all those technologies we like to use during our lunch breaks or when vegging out of the couch have also proven beneficial, in one way or another, in the workplace.
Now more than ever, companies are letting people take their personal devices to work or surf social networks in the office – a trend that’s often referred to as “consumerization of IT.” A more accurate title, though, may be “causing frustration for IT.” While employees and executives may appreciate the consumerization, it can create serious headaches for the IT departments that have to account for them.
Welcome to Virtela Viewpoint
Welcome to Virtela Viewpoint – our blog about Managed and Cloud IT Services.
As we start a new – and hopefully economically more vibrant – year of 2011, we look forward to sharing what Virtela, our customers, and our partners see in way of IT trends, best practices and things to watch out for. If Gartner has anything to say about 2011, it starts with moderate budget growth of 5.1% to $3.6 trillion (not so moderate, in terms of aggregate spend).
From Virtela’s Viewpoint, CIOs and their IT teams have some clear and consistent goals for 2011 and beyond, including how to:
