BYOD: Focus on User Experience, Not the Device

BYOD: Focus on User Experience, Not the Device May 2012 Prepared by: Zeus Kerravala

BYOD: Focus on User Experience, Not the Device by Zeus Kerravala May 2012 º º º º º º º º º º º º º º º º º º º º º º º º º º º º º º º º º º º º º º º º º º º º º º º º º º º º º º º º º º º º º º º º º º º Introduction: Leveraging Networks for Scalable, Reliable BYOD ZK Research A Division of Kerravala Consulting A perfect storm is the coming together of several forces to create a single, unstoppable force. Several forces in corporate IT are rapidly coming together to create the biggest transition since the birth of the mainframe the shift to consumerized IT. This is similar to the shift that occurred in the late 1990s when the Internet exploded: Low-cost PCs, home broadband, the development of the browser and Windows came together and created a perfect storm that transformed computing forever (see Exhibit 1, below). The shift to consumerized IT will finally let IT fulfill its vision of being able to deliver any application or service to any worker using any device over any network. This shift will be driven by the following trends: Cloud computing: Makes applications and IT resources location-independent, giving workers a consistent user experience no matter where they are. Device evolution: Devices have evolved more in the past five-year period than any other period since the birth of computing. Today s mobile devices have high quality, multimedia interfaces that allow workers to perform any task when out of the office. These new devices have the power to transform the way people work, but only if they have access to corporate tools and applications. Wireless advancements: Historically, workers had to choose between the convenience of wireless and the performance of wired. However, the commercial availability of 4G cellular services and the ratification of 802.11N Wi-Fi lowered this barrier. Although Wi-Fi is still a shared medium, the technology has advanced enough to give a similar experience to wired if the design of the network is done correctly. Evolution of virtualization: Virtualization has the power to decouple an IT resource from the physical platform it resides on. This becomes increasingly important as more and more applications move into a hybrid cloud environment and consolidation, ease of management, upgrades and deployment of new capabilities can be realized. Worker mobility: The number of mobile workers has steadily increased yearover-year. A recent ZK Research study shows 55 percent of workers spend more than 20 percent of their work day away from their primary work location. This puts emphasis on provisioning true mobility, which enables a worker to access any application from any device, vs. portability, which enables the worker to use a single device in all places to access corporate information. One more significant trend is driving the industry toward a consumerized IT model: This is the growing demand for bring-your-own-device (BYOD), where workers bring personal devices to work and use them for business purposes. BYOD has created tremendous media attention over the past few years, and it s progressed to the point that all IT departments must prepare for in it the near future. zeus@zkresearch.com Cell: 301-775-7447 Office: 978-252-5314 Influence and insight through social media

BYOD: Focus on User Experience, Not the Device 3 Exhibit 1: The IT Perfect Storm The rise of the cloud Device evolution Virtualization evolution Wireless advancements Growing number of mobile workers Bring-your-owndevice (BYOD) Section II: The Time for BYOD is Now About a decade ago all corporate technology was procured, provisioned and managed by the IT department. During this era, the technology used in the workplace was far superior to anything found in workers homes, so it was natural for workers to rely on their company s IT department to provide the best technology to help workers do their jobs. However, as people became more technically savvy and consumer technology companies started to get more competitive with one another, the perception that workplace technology was superior to consumer technology started to fade. Although many companies do not have formal BYOD policies, consumer technologies are alive and rampant in the workplace. Exhibit 2, below, shows data from a recent ZK Research survey, where workers were asked about the use of consumer technology in the workplace. The results show just how in-demand consumer devices are by workers. Consumer devices are designed for use outside corporate walls, and work very well in those environments. Putting consumer-grade devices in the enterprise will put a new strain on the device and the supporting infrastructure. For example, a single tablet on a home network works well because the competition for resources with other applications and devices is low. The same device in a company network may have to compete for bandwidth with hundreds of other consumer devices, making the experience less satisfying. IT infrastructure needs to be sufficient to support today s IT environment, but also for the massive number of consumer devices coming into the corporate network.

BYOD: Focus on User Experience, Not the Device 4 Exhibit 2: In the Context of Workplace Productivity, Rate Your Agreement With the Following Agree or strongly agree I am afraid of new technology 14% My work must be done at the office My personal tech is better than my workplace tech I would be more productive with access to my home apps My workplace encourages remote working 44% 49% 54% 59% I can work from anywhere I am more productive than two years ago 77% 83% The survey reveals some interesting data points that support the push to BYOD: Only 14 percent of workers say they fear new technology. Mobile phones, the Web and other technology have become integrated into the very fabric of our lives, so the majority of people today have no fear of new technology. In fact, much of the younger generation embraces new technology at a rate far faster than ever before. A staggering 49 percent of workers feel that their personal technology is better than what they have in the workplace. This perception will push workers to use consumer technologies faster than before. More than half 54 percent of workers feel they are more productive with access to home applications, and 83 percent are of the opinion they are more productive than two years ago. It s difficult to quantify whether consumer devices and applications actually make workers more productive, but most users seem to feel they do. Workers want to be as productive as they can be, and companies that do not allow the use of consumer technologies can stifle worker productivity. On average, workers use four consumer technologies as part of their business toolkit already, so BYOD is well underway. The mix of consumer technologies ranges from file sharing applications, to social networking tools, to smart phones to consumer chat (Exhibit 3). The current worker toolkit is more diverse and complex than ever. The fact that workers are manufacturing their own BYOD programs makes it essential for IT departments to develop their own as soon as possible.

BYOD: Focus on User Experience, Not the Device 5 Exhibit 3: End-User Toolkit Then and Now Toolkit then Toolkit now Laptop Collaboration software Laptop Collaboration software Desktop video Smart phone Desktop sharing Cloud Tablet Section III: The Benefits of BYOD Historically CIOs and IT leaders have been hesitant to move forward with a formal BYOD policy, as conventional wisdom considers it risky. However, with demand for BYOD as high as it is, it s possible that staying with the status quo and not moving to BYOD is a bigger risk than implementing it. The increased risk of not having a BYOD strategy stems from users bringing devices in, with or without a formal policy, and creating more security issues. This is one of the reasons why IT support of BYOD has reached the level it has. ZK Research finds that only 18 percent of companies do not support BYOD (see Exhibit 4). The other 82 percent vary from limited support to full support. Exhibit 4: Company Attitude on use of Consumer Technologies What is your company's attitude on the use of consumer technologies? Do not allow any consumer devices We allow it but provide no support Consumer devices allowed with limited support Allowed with full IT support 18% 23% 20% 39% No tolerance High acceptance

BYOD: Focus on User Experience, Not the Device 6 Companies that choose to support a BYOD policy will recognize the following benefits: Greater employee productivity: Workers are more comfortable using a favored and familiar device rather than one that has been deemed a corporate standard. Allowing workers to use a device of their own choosing means they will work more often in more places, bringing corporate productivity to new heights. Better collaboration across the extended enterprise: Competitive advantage today is dictated by harnessing the power of the entire extended organization. This puts an emphasis on workers being able to collaborate with others inside and outside of the organization. BYOD allows workers to use mobile devices to collaborate better, even when out of the office. Consistent user experience across corporate and personal devices: The influx of hundreds or thousands of multimedia-capable personal devices can have a negative impact on user experience, because of the additional network capacity required to support them. A formal BYOD policy can help IT managers understand the impact of BYOD and upgrade the infrastructure, where necessary, to ensure a consistent user experience for everyone. Enhanced customer experience and relationships: Employees are accessible and productive wherever they are, and can also respond quickly and easily to customer needs Improved employee satisfaction: Users want to work in progressive organizations that enable employees to be as productive as possible. Companies that deny employee use of personal devices will see an increase in the churn of employees to more progressive companies. IT can still maintain the security and control it needs to protect the business: While BYOD does change the role of IT, the IT department still needs to ensure the company is protected. A formal BYOD policy can give IT the necessary visibility and access control into the network, and an understanding about how devices are used. The devices may be owned by the employee, but IT needs centralized management tools to protect the employee and the company. For most companies, BYOD is more a matter of when, rather than if. Even if IT departments are steadfastly against BYOD, it s likely another corporate leader will push for this initiative in the near future. To prepare, IT must fully understand the scope of BYOD. Section IV: BYOD is About More Than On-Boarding Devices Implementing a company program to support personal devices is a multifaceted problem. Many organizations ZK Research interviewed recently are focused on the on-boarding process, ensuring the device can attach to the corporate network. While this is an important component, it s not the only consideration for BYOD. The following is a list of key issues that must be overcome to implement BYOD: Security: This is among the biggest challenges for any BYOD implementation. IT involves not only securing the device but also the data that resides on the device. Security tools like secure VPN access, URL filtering and data leak prevention are critical to ensuring the protection of the company and workers. Mobile device management: This includes discovering, managing and inventorying mobile devices. Today, users carry an average of 2.5 devices as part of their worker toolkit. ZK Research estimates this ratio will grow to six devices per user within five years Network access control: This means controlling access to the network with policies, including preadmission endpoint security checks and postadmission controls. This limits where users and devices can go on a network, and what they can do. Seamless user experience across wired and wireless networks: BYOD drives the need to deliver more applications to more workers in more places. However, this can t be at the expense of a high-quality user experience. IT must deliver an experience consistent with any device, whether wired or wireless (see Exhibit 5). Compliance issues: The ability to work from anywhere may sound great, but there are many compliance issues, particularly in heavily regulated industries. IT leaders must be concerned with content users can access in which locations, and be able to allow or deny it as policy dictates. Additionally, device profiling and fingerprinting, and the ability to track every device on the corporate network, becomes an important compliance and/or regulatory concern. Network capacity: Having thousands of multimedia devices hit the network suddenly can play havoc on a network. Many of these devices enable real-time peer-to-peer video conferencing, causing unpredictable traffic flows.

BYOD: Focus on User Experience, Not the Device 7 Exhibit 5: BYOD Requires a Single Network with Pervasive Experience Any application Any device Email Tablet Pervasive wireless Wired edge Laptop Desktop video Wired core Smart phone Vertical device Unified features M2M Voice Social networking Network visibility: No matter how extensive the planning for BYOD is prior to deployment, problems will occur. When problems occur, IT must have visibility into network traffic flows to quickly isolate, identify and remedy the problem. Network visibility can also help address the BYOD complexity chasm (see Exhibit 6). Granular network access: IT must set up different levels of network access to accommodate employees, contractors, guests, business partners and others that require it. Emergency service capabilities: Workers need the ability to make emergency calls from any consumer device, such as E-911 in the U.S., when on the corporate network. The challenge is to be able to find a caller anywhere on campus in the event of an emergency call. This is best done with a network-based solution, since the network is the only resource that will always know where the user is. It s important that IT leaders have a clear understanding of the full scope of what needs to be done to implement BYOD. On-boarding devices is the first step in the process but other issues, such as security authentication, are just as important.

Endpoints on network BYOD: Focus on User Experience, Not the Device 8 Exhibit 6: The BYOD Building Blocks Cloud computing BYOD MDM Virtualization Mobile apps Complexity chasm Wireless access UC IT budgets Building blocks of BYOD Section V: What to Look For In a Solution Provider Consumerization is here, and it s critical that all companies aggressively adopt BYOD. There are many ways to tackle the BYOD challenge, but ZK Research finds a network-based approach provides the best scalability: The network is the single resource that is pervasive, and under IT control. Trying to manage BYOD from an end point under user control will not scale. Choice of a network vendor to help implement a BYOD solution should be made carefully, and not based just on vendor incumbency. The following are key criteria for evaluating a BYOD solution provider: Unified wired/wireless access: When configuring security policies or managing the network, it s important that the experience is the same across wired or wireless networks. To manage wired and wireless networks as one network, instead of two separate ones, requires a unified view. Unified wireless can simplify administration, make managing the entire network easier and create a better, seamless user experience for the worker. Security integrated into the network: This is critical for companies of all sizes. Managing security from the network allows IT to protect the company without having to touch every end point. User roles, network access control, URL filtering, antivirus and data-leak prevention are critical security services. Vendor-agnostic: While the ideal scenario is to deploy an end-to-end solution, it s likely most networks have at least one other vendor. The solution provider must integrate with existing infrastructure so a full rip-and-replace of existing network devices is not required. High availability and reliability: No matter how redundant networks are, problems occur. Ensure the solution is highly reliable and has high availability options. Basic features should include fallback and fail open, to permit some network access in case of availability issues. Robust unified communications (UC) portfolio: A primary driver of BYOD is to enable workers to collaborate better with one another, with customer, and with partners. A robust UC suite with features such as VoIP, mobile clients, chat, presence, conferencing and video can take corporate collaboration to the next step, allowing individuals to interact with anyone, any time. The UC solution should be centralized, and provide enterprisewide communications. Broad range of managed and professional services: For most organizations, BYOD will be a new initiative and require skills that are not presently in-house. Using a solution provider with a broad range of services can help IT bridge the skills gap and enable a risk-free deployment.

BYOD: Focus on User Experience, Not the Device 9 Section VI: Conclusion and Recommendations BYOD was once considered a high-risk initiative that served only a few technically savvy workers. However, the evolution of devices, integration of technology into personal lives, availability of cloudbased services and wireless evolution has moved BYOD from vision to a reality. Organizations that formally adopt BYOD will lower the overall cost of running IT, enable new ways of working, and improve the overall experience for every individual in the extended enterprise. It s important for IT departments to act with a degree of urgency to avoid falling behind competitively. To get started, ZK Research recommends the following: Embrace BYOD now: BYOD has the power to change the way people work. Instead of looking at consumer technologies as taboo and trying to prohibit usage, put in the proper controls to enable BYOD. Otherwise, users will find their own solutions, potentially creating serious management and security challenges. Put a formal BYOD employee policy in place: The reality of today s environment is that regardless of policy, employees will find a way to bring personal devices into the workplace. This is an inevitable trend and ignoring it will lead to greater risk and poor user experience, frustrating employees. A formal policy will allow IT to stay in front of BYOD, making the user experience secure and high-quality. Build BYOD on a rock-solid network foundation: The network is the best platform to build a BYOD solution on. Assess the readiness of the network to support BYOD (security assessment, ability to scale to accommodate mobile growth, etc.). Deploy a solution with a highly scalable wireless and wired edge that terminates into a wired network capable of handling traditional user data as well as voice and video traffic. Focus on user experience, not the device: It s easy to be fixated on the device when thinking about BYOD. However, it s more important to focus on delivering a high-quality user experience, as this will have the biggest impact on worker productivity. This includes security, compliance, network visibility, management and application optimization. This will make IT BYOD heroes within their organization. : A Division of Kerravala Consulting All rights reserved. Reproduction or redistribution in any form without the express prior permission of ZK Research is expressly prohibited. For questions, comments or further information, e-mail zeus@zkresearch.com.