Bring Your Own Device in 2013 – Be Prepared for the Tidal Wave!

When good friends (who only a few years ago swore they’d never use a cell phone) decided this year that their Christmas gifts to each other were going to be the latest new iPhones and iPads, I knew that we’d reached the mobile device turning point and organizations better be prepared!

Organizations and IT are facing a tidal wave that they won’t be able to stop….. BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) is storming the workplace with mobile devices from a plethora of vendors. If you haven’t already done so you need to change your IT governance policies and the way you think about managing security ASAP.

Since you can’t stop the wave, you need a plan on how to manage disparate mobile devices, provide security, and get applications to the devices. These are very tricky waters, though, because it has to be super easy and intuitive for end users to comply. Any overlay of bureaucracy, slow response times, etc. will just drive your users to end-running your policies and guidelines without waiting for management or IT approval. They’ll buy or build their own apps, choose their own file-sharing provider (e.g. dropbox.com), share photos and information with the world, etc.