4 Major Trends in Enterprise Mobility

Mobility has evolved at a dizzying pace in recent years. As technical consultant, Robin Hobo has kept a close eye on developments, transforming innovation into practical solutions. To help your company benefit from secure mobile access to company data and systems, he has taken a look at the four most important mobility trends and to explain what you can do to mitigate risks.

There is always friction between mobility and data security. On the one hand, your employees want to be able to work at any time, wherever they are. On the other, it is essential to protect confidential information, especially in regard to customers or their data. Indeed, you are obliged to provide sufficient security to protect data belonging to your customers.

The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) will come into force in the European Union on May 25, 2018. It requires organizations to prevent data leaks.

Severe penalties and reputational damage

The European General Data Protection Regulation is not an optional arrangement: companies that are unable to satisfy the requirements may face penalties of up to €20 million or four percent of their global revenue. Data leaks must be reported within 72 hours. Regardless of the reputational damage it may cause, the situation will be made public if companies failed to satisfy this requirement and news of the leak gets out. So it’s time to take action! The good thing is: it doesn’t have to be complicated.
It is easy to secure data on smartphones and tablets. The same applies to e-mails. Organizations are automatically forced to enter a password or PIN code if they use a managed app to provide e-mail services on mobile devices. By doing so, you can take the first step toward preventing unintentional leaks of company data. And it’s not just about preventing penalties, as it is also imperative to protect your important company data

The world of notebooks has always been entirely separate from smartphones and tablets. Although notebooks are mobile, of course, they are often managed the same way as a desktop. But the boundaries are becoming blurred with the emergence of convertibles and netbooks. Companies are increasingly including the management of these devices in their mobility policies. Employees acquire added flexibility by managing these mobile devices using an enterprise mobility management solution, without making any concessions in regards to security. For instance, your data is always sent encrypted, and there is strict separation between personal and business data, regardless of whether it is on a notebook or a smartphone.

Your employees already use plenty of apps in their personal lives. So it’s hardly surprising that they want to use apps at work as well. Many companies already accommodate this need by introducing the concept of choose your own device (CYOD) or bring your own device (BYOD) strategies. But how can you keep track of all the devices and company data? Apps make it relatively simple to guarantee data and system security. Employees can use mobile application management (MAM) to download an app from your proprietary App Store and then use it safely at work. This reduces the administrative workload significantly, as your organization only manages the application and not the device. Employees are therefore productive with their own devices, and you do not cut any corners in terms of security and privacy.

Apps are not directed exclusively at the consumer market, and developers have also discovered the business sector. One good example is the iBabs app (used for paperless meetings), which is now available with security features, for instance with Microsoft Intune, XenMobile Citrix, VMware and Blackberry Dynamics AirWatch. Here, the benefit is that additional features are available in a safe, proprietary environment. Employees will therefore benefit directly from a new productivity tool, without exposure to added security risks.

Keeping it the right balance

It is obvious that plenty is happening in regard to the topic of mobility and that mobility trends and developments are coming in quick succession. And so they should. If your employees can access company data and systems at any time and from any location, they will quite literally be productive wherever they are. All the same, you still want to ensure that you communicate safely and that data cannot fall into the wrong hands.

Companies usually have good procedures in place for workstations. Now more than ever, though, it is essential to protect mobile devices using enterprise mobility management. Of course, this will increase productivity and security, but it will also prevent penalties and damage to your reputation.