Harnessing BYOD Phenomenon an IT Guide

Transcription

1 Harnessing BYOD Phenomenon an IT Guide April 2012 Empowering Everywhere TM

2 Harnessing BYOD Phenomenon an IT Guide 2 Workers across a range of industries increasingly expect to access corporate resources and productivity tools from mobile devices either from devices their companies issue to them, or from personal devices they bring to work. The latter phenomenon, known as Bring Your Own Device (BYOD), creates multiple challenges for enterprises of all sizes. To meet the demand for secure, always-available mobile enterprise applications, IT departments must find reliable ways to deliver enterprise tools and applications across dozens of popular mobile phones and tablets that employees bring to work, and make sure those applications are optimized and usable for each form factor, connection method, and employee role. For enterprises embracing BYOD to drive employee productivity and efficiency, corporate data security and employee privacy are primary considerations. As they ponder the problem from various angles, CIOs invariably must look at a single key question: How can we find the right mix of what we need to implement BYOD quickly and manage it end-to-end, without introducing new IT processes to manage? Key Issues managing BYOD? Useful Tools

3 Harnessing BYOD Phenomenon an IT Guide 3 Organizations need to keep up with the pace that mobile devices innovate and moreover, factor that innovation into their day-to-day operations. Increasing BYOD Acceptance As the trend toward BYOD in the workplace accelerates, the questions surrounding it have largely shifted from whether to how to support employees use of personal devices at work. BYOD is indeed becoming a mainstream practice, whether governed by IT or not. According to a survey conducted in the US, 50% of all enterprises already have a BYOD approach (without any IT control of devices and mobile apps), and an additional 25% have adopted BYOD with some level of IT control. Most recently, IT managers have begun viewing BYOD as an opportunity for driving organizational effectiveness, rather than just a syndrome to fight or avoid. Although a handful organizations have embarked on BYOD merely to save on capital equipment costs and improve their bottom line in the short term, many IT organizations have viewed the potential for lost or stolen data from the use of personal devices as not worth these savings. But recently, businesses have realized that there is more to this trend than just the tangible short-term gain. The cost saving momentum of BYOD has now been superseded by more strategic, long-term benefits of employee engagement, increased productivity, organizational agility and innovation. For one, many organizations are recognizing that they can use mobile applications to drive end user satisfaction and flexibility, simply by taking advantage of the constantly advancing capabilities of new smartphones. With the new generation of mobile, gadgetsavvy workforce, corporate attempts to restrict or standardize their choice of mobile devices often go awry and create an army of unsatisfied users. More than ever, today s talent is looking at the employers that can be flexible in accommodating their style and preferences for tools and technologies and a mobile device carries a symbolic significance in evaluating this flexibility. Secondly, mobile phones have become powerful tools in enterprise systems environment. Employees are now able to carry a vast array of operations on a 4 inch screen on-the-go from documenting and reporting an accident on the field to submitting an expense report, to capturing a new opportunity and updating a sales pipeline all without ever having to turn on their computers. Therefore, enterprise mobile apps for supporting business operations are becoming a necessity for organizations that want to be nimble and empower their workforce with the endless capabilities mobile devices offer. BYOD now entails more than just guarding an employee-owned device, it entails enabling and managing important business apps on it. support corporate applications on personal apps be built and deployed for enterprises, but traditional web applications will also increasingly become available for mobile as over 40% of all enterprise web (B2E or B2B)

4 Harnessing BYOD Phenomenon an IT Guide 4 applications will have a mobile app. It is imperative that companies understand the opportunities BYOD create, craft the right strategies to deal with the challenges and capture those opportunities, and align the right resources to implement it in the most efficient way. Technology As The Greatest Driver IT organizations that are looking to craft comprehensive, flexible BYOD strategies must start with understanding the key factors driving the Bring Your Own Device phenomenon. These include advances in mobile technologies; the evolution of end users expectations for support of their personal devices; and changes in the role of enterprise apps in users daily lives. Rapidly Changing Mobile Landscape The pace at which the mobile device market is growing is astonishing. IDC predicts the smartphone market will grow by nearly 50% this year, and the number of these phones in use will surpass 450 million. Meanwhile, the market continues to fragment as diverse manufacturers vie for market share. According to Gartner, the iphone, Android, BlackBerry dominated mobile market will see changes in the coming future, the most prominent of which will be Windows market share growth. In light of this fragmented mobile market, it is important that enterprises avoid tethering their strategies to a single mobile operating system. Additionally, the share of tablets in work environments is poised to grow dramatically and impact corporate environments. Gartner expects 80% of businesses to support a workforce using Faster Speed, Better Web Other drivers that push mainstream adoption of mobile technologies will be advancement in connectivity speed and availability of a more powerful mobile web experience. Improved 4G connectivity means that most employees will gravitate to new mobile devices, as it will be much faster compared to their legacy phones. The advancements in mobile web will make mobile the one-stop channel to obtain information and even make transactions. Mobile s share of Internet traffic worldwide has been growing rapidly and in just 8 months

5 Harnessing BYOD Phenomenon an IT Guide 5 means each organization s workforce will use their mobile devices for Internet browsing and transactions and will tend to limit the use of desktop machines to more complex tasks. Challenges In Implementing BYOD Employee Privacy In BYOD, provisioning device and data security on employee s personal devices often conflicts employee privacy and regulatory issues. Part of the reason why some organizations delay their mobile initiatives internally are out of concern over the legal issues surrounding personal devices to be used at work. While some have turned to features and capabilities such as device wipe, lock, and detection, these strategies can often raise eyebrows among privacy-aware BYOD proponents. Employers strive to provide the maximum security of the corporate data assets by deploying a comprehensive management client onto the device that essentially hijacks the device and potentially violates employee privacy. These concerns have escalated in recent years as mobile devices have become more ubiquitous and attributes like location and presence more easily tracked. The challenge is to find the middle ground that would provide enough security and at the same time respect employee privacy by segregating employee data from potentially vulnerable corporate data. Embracing Diversity Challenged with the diversity of mobile device market, IT managers grapple with the question of whether BYOD program should support all major platforms or should be restricted to only a few. The device market currently consists of ios at 20%, Android at 40%, BlackBerry Windows platform is projected to grow to take 20% of the market share, most IT departments are planning to support at least 3 of the major device types. Depending on the organization and the countries it operates in, this approach may or may not cover the full range of employee devices, nor future proof the organization for changes in the device landscape. Finding the Right Approach to Security Security carries the greatest weight in the IT shops stance toward BYOD. With multiple network security, firewalls, device control/ monitoring features, data encryption and more, organizations are faced with a bewildering array of options for delivering data and application security. Some of the security features are provided out of the box by the device platforms, some from individual network security providers, exchange servers (from s), and a big chunk by MDM (mobile device management) providers. The challenge is finding the most reliable and efficient approach to security that would serve as a viable solution in the long run as the devices and platforms change.

6 Harnessing BYOD Phenomenon an IT Guide 6 Managing Enterprise Apps Some of the challenges organizations will have to cope with in mobilizing their business applications will be not only applying layered security policies, but also developing, deploying and maintaining mobile enterprise applications. An MGI study predicts that According to the same study, during the apps will experience at least four major update cycles stemming from operating system and device updates. This clearly shows the need to proactively include Mobile Application Management consideration in the BYOD strategy. There s no question that the need to manage myriad enterprise apps on employees personal and even corporate devices will be inevitable. Crafting BYOD Strategy Key Considerations Before mapping the strategy to implement BYOD, organizations need to assess several key considerations. Key Components BYOD According to Forrester, 200 million employees will bring their smartphones to new face of engagement, employers will need to view BYOD through a wider prism of empowering employees rather than just managing their devices. Understanding what aspects of employees devices can and should be managed is the most important step in implementing BYOD. What should organizations manage and what should they keep out of their control tower? Below is the holistic view of the key components of enterprise mobility management: Application development Multi-channel support Application deployment App store Application level security Role-based access Sync Server App admin console BYOD committee Blueprint and guidelines Organizational alignment and communications Policy decisions Device controls Device monitoring Device configuration Telecom expenses Activation/deactivation Security and Policy Management Password enforcement Authentication Remote lock-wipe Data encryption/ decryption Certificate distribution Application quarantine Enforcing and detecting policy violations Restricting/prohibiting access to servers

7 Harnessing BYOD Phenomenon an IT Guide Mobile Device Management (MDM) vs. Mobile Application Management (MAM) Mobile Device Management technologies enable administrators to configure mobile devices to ensure that IT policies remain intact, as well as to monitor the overall status and health of the device. Mobile Application Management systems enable administrators to configure, provision, secure, and update enterprise applications to employees mobile devices. The Ideal Balance: Enablement and Control It is important to get a clear idea of your BYOD objectives in terms of the balance between employee enablement and control from cost savings and control to employee flexibility and enterprise apps. Extra Device Management Features Organizations have to decide how much visibility and control they really need over the employee s device aside from enterprise applications and data. Some of the features in the device management components like monitoring battery life or prohibiting download of apps from public app stores or even device activation/deactivation can deemed unnecessary by some organizations, while there may be few that would prefer to leverage these capabilities. Features like complete device wipe and control may be necessary for companies with users that deal with highly classified information. In all cases, it is important to isolate business data from personal data. As for the data, using Microsoft Exchange or an Exchange ActiveSync (EAS)- compatible server, security compliance can be ensured directly for most of the devices. Also, as cloud computing becomes more mainstream, data can be configured for storage in the cloud, rather than on the mobile device, which eliminates the need for remote lockdown and wiping. Telecom Expense Management In addition to data security and app management, some organizations include in their BYOD strategy telecommunications management. In most cases, letting the employees bring their own device eliminates the need for the extra work of carrier negotiation and management. Some organizations offer a BYOD stipend a monthly allowance for corporate phone communication expenses and it has been proven to increase adoption of BYOD. Enterprise Mobile App Deployment and Management for BYOD Below is the Mobile Application Management flow that would allow management of enterprise application and data lifecycle as well as policies. Organizations need to employ an end-to-end solution that incorporates application development, deployment and management. A Mobile Enteprise Application Platform (MEAP) combined with Mobile Application Management (MAM) should address the three critical components of an organization s strategy to address this end to end scenario: 1. Develop. MEAP should empower developers to write code once and deploy it to multiple devices including Apple, Android, BlackBerry, Windows, smartphones and tablets. Furthermore, the mobile platform should support multiple mobile application development channels including

8 Harnessing BYOD Phenomenon an IT Guide 8 Sync Server Helps syncronize enterprise backend data with the mobile device. Users can access and edit enterprise data when disconnected from their corporate sources and have control over when to resume updating their data when a connection is reestablished. Enterprise App Store Ensures application security and policy administration and is tightly integrated with application management portal. smartphones, feature phones, tablets, kiosks, and desktops. Developers should be able to connect to various enterprise information systems such as SAP ERP applications, databases, and web services and offer online and offline access for users with a complete sync framework. 2. Deploy. Businesses can take advantage of the already widely adopted App Store model in their own mobile app deployment efforts. A typical App Store provides access to applications for one mobile device type. An enterprise that has multiple mobile devices in their environment will need support across all mobile devices and their platforms. To benefit from this accepted model, companies should use a MEAP that has these capabilities to easily provision corporate applications that are aligned with corporate governance and security policies. 3. Manage. Multiple mobile devices, platforms and applications could mean chaos for the IT administrator responsible for managing mobile deployments. Administrators should have access to a portal that enables them to assign policies to the developed applications, align applications to users, groups, and roles, and promote the applications in their enterprise app store. The administrative console should provide tools to manage user and device registration, application and device policies and address other management features including syncronization, security, logging, configuration and more. 5 Key Elements to Future-Proof the Enterprise App Component of BYOD 1 Single Code Base for All Channel Development A unified mobile app platform should allow for the design, development & deployment of native & web apps for Android, ios, Windows, Blackberry, Symbian, tablets, and even feature phones from a single code base thereby eliminating redundant development efforts. 2 A Secure Application Container A secure application container should provide an organization the ability to deploy any type of application, including native, hybrid, mixed-mode 3 The Enterprise App Store The app store should give the employee the option to consume applications and also an administrator to manage application permissions and all details of app distribution and management. 4 Centralized Administration Console The central admin console should allow an administrator to have complete control over a employees application deployed on their device to manage all aspects including basic device management. 5 Pre-Configured Employee Apps As part of BYOD the platform of selection should allow minimization of efforts where possible by offering common pre-configured apps such as HR or CRM that are configurable and available on all channels.

9 Harnessing BYOD Phenomenon an IT Guide BYOD Checklist Feature Menu: What Would You Like? The below table is a check list with a comprehensive list of features for managing BYOD with an accompanying criticality score and the technologies that provide these features. Based on their organization s needs, IT managers might assign different criticality score to these features and decide which technologies they will have to employ: Feature Critical Supporting Technology Add to My Checklist Multi-device ios High MEAP All other OS support High MEAP Feature phones Medium MEAP Ruggedized devices Medium MEAP Tablets High MEAP App Platform Single code base Development High MEAP Deployment High MEAP High MEAP High MEAP Hybrid High MEAP Policy Enforcement Device platform, versions, applications, data detection High MEAP Jail-broken and rooted device detection MAM, MDM Medium MAM, MDM Downloadable application restriction (corporate) High MAM Downloadable application restriction (public/non-corporate) MDM Monitoring and notification on access to App stores MDM Monitoring and notification on access to web services, social media MDM Monitoring roaming usage Medium MDM Enforcing and detecting policy violations on communication limit Medium MDM Managing corporate apps on personal devices High MAM Flagging content as personal or corporate High MAM, MDM Prohibiting data export outside the container (e.g., attachment) Medium MDM Restricting or prohibiting access to corporate servers High MAM, MDM

10 Harnessing BYOD Phenomenon an IT Guide Feature Critical Supporting Technology Add to My Checklist Security and Compliance Password enforcement High MDM Device lock MDM Remote wipe (selective) High MAM Remote wipe (total device) MDM Data encryption (phone memory, external memory cards) Medium MDM Certificate-based authentication (device ID, OS version, phone no) Medium MAM (partially), MDM Certificate distribution High MAM, MDM Monitoring on-device data/device manipulation Medium MDM Rogue App Protection (e.g. application quarantine) Medium MAM, MDM Firewall High MAM, MDM Antivirus High MAM, MDM High MAM, MDM Message archiving and retrieval MDM Containerization High MAM Containerization: local data encryption High MAM, MDM Containerization: on-the-fly decryption High MAM, MDM Containerization: on-the-fly decryption High MAM, MDM High MAM, MDM Controlled communication among containers High MAM, MDM Application containerization (beyond ) High MAM, MDM Medium MAM, MDM Inventory Management Asset management and inventory (devices) MDM Device configuration and imaging MDM Device activation and deactivation MDM Provision (distribution and configuration push) High MAM, MDM MAM, MDM Monitoring (battery life, memory, etc.) MDM High MAM, MDM

11 Harnessing BYOD Phenomenon an IT Guide Feature Critical Supporting Technology Add to My Checklist Software Dist. Application discovery (e.g., through private app stores) High MAM Software updates, for applications or OSs High MAM Patches/fixes Medium MDM Backup/restore Medium MDM Background syncronization Medium MDM File distribution Medium MDM Administration & Reporting Single console Medium MAM, MDM Web-based console Medium MAM, MDM OTA provisioning Medium MAM, MDM Role-based access Medium MAM, MDM Group-based actions Medium MAM, MDM Remote control (real-time or permission-based) Medium MDM Certificate Authority, trouble ticketing, network management such as IMB Tivoli) Medium MAM, MDM Business Intelligence Medium MAM, MDM Reporting Medium MAM, MDM IT Services Help Desk Medium MAM, MDM User support with levels Medium MAM, MDM User-service (administration, etc.) Medium MAM, MDM End-to-end real-time monitoring Medium MAM, MDM Troubleshooting Medium MAM, MDM Alerting Medium MAM, MDM Telecom Contract Management Medium MDM Expense Management Medium MDM Service usage management Medium MDM Syncronization Off-line storage Medium MAM Data Sync for ios Medium MAM Session Management Medium MAM

12 Harnessing BYOD Phenomenon an IT Guide Looking Into the Future: Multi-channel and Context-Aware Computing Increasingly, analysts and other market watchers are pointing a future in which mobile, web, and enterprise application development, deployment and management are consolidated into a single world known as multi-channel computing. In this scenario, applications can be developed a single time, then deployed not only across all mobile channels, but across all computing channels whether mobile or static including desktop Web, 32-bit desktop, kiosk, and indash systems as well. According to Gartner, this trend will accelerate over the next five years, culminating in a style of computing the analyst firm has dubbed Context Aware Computing. Context Aware Computing delivers a set of self-conscious technologies to the market, such that applications know which device each user is accessing, and adjust data presentation, security, and UI functions on the fly to accommodate both the user s role and his or her access mode. As organizations grapple with BYOD, they are actually laying the groundwork for this environment of hyper-productive technologies. Summary To successfully implement BYOD, it is important to consider the balance between employee privacy and corporate data security. Given that employees often purchase their own devices and put plenty of their own apps, games, ringtones and media on them, many organizations are hesitant to pursue a Big Brother policy of total device control. At the same time, companies have a legitimate right to enforce data integrity and data access rules and policies. Achieving this balance can take several iterations and substantial beta testing exercises. Organizations will need to look into the future of enterprise mobility and ensure their BYOD strategy includes provisioning and management of enterprise applications. Use of mobile devices for only or general app store sourced business apps without site licenses will eventually need to shift towards consistent enterprise-wide enablement of workforce with relevant business applications. Organizations that realize the importance of this phenomenon and incorporate it to their BYOD strategy will be ahead of the curve in embracing mobility across their enterprise.

13 Harnessing BYOD Phenomenon an IT Guide References Making Sense of Mobile Enterprise Application Platforms: A Buyer s Guide, MGI Research are trademarks of Kony Solutions, Inc. Apple and iphone are trademarks of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries. BlackBerry is a registered trademark of Research In Motion. Android is a trademark of Google Inc. Other product names mentioned are the property of their respective holders.