The MaaS360 Blog

BYOD: APPS Act No Game for Enterprises

Wed, 15 May 2013 14:13:07 +0000

The recently passed Application Privacy, Protection and Security (APPS) Act mandates app developers must maintain in-depth privacy policies that in part forbid them from collecting any personal data once the user has stopped using their application.

Why is this a game changer? For consumers, the lack of App rule transparency has plagued social media experiences since the first cow mooed on Farmville. For enterprises, this act will require a whole new set of governors when it comes to employee smartphones and tablets especially when the conversation turns towards Bring Your Own Device (BYOD).

Now that App developers, advertising networks and mobile operating vendors are lawfully required to furnish details on what data they collect and how the data is used, enterprises can have more faith in App integrity, but the data leakage and information sharing war is far from won.

APPS Act – The Heavy Hand of Trust

The APPS act has addressed one of the key shortcomings of the mobile application ecosystem – trust in mobile applications. Last year, a BYOD Harris survey revealed that 75% of smartphone owners forgo deploying enterprise applications that reveal their location in exchange for access to corporate resources. More often than not, this fear for loss of privacy has pushed many smartphone owners to remove apps that may allow employers access into their personal lives. This is sadly the antithesis of the BYOD productivity nirvana.

With the APPS act enforcement enterprises are now obligated to strongly monitor their app ecosystem and ensure that their business apps infuse trust with transparency. Thus mobile security solutions must be implemented for delivering privacy holistically.

4 Steps to APPS Act Compliance

This is by no means a full list on what should be considered for APPS Act compliance, but these starting fundamentals will certainly leave enterprises better prepared when the inevitable discussions begin with the legal department and the Chief Security Officer.

1. Define mobile security policies to ensure that the mobile apps delete user data after they have been uninstalled. Using a mobile application management (MAM) solution, you may:

Black list mobile apps that may invade into a user’s privacy and do not comply by the APPS act
Detect rogue apps
Decide to receive alerts for mobile application pop up notices that may intentionally or unintentionally turn off any app privacy settings

MAM solutions are resourceful in not only curtailing your app privacy concerns but also help you keep a check on the secured state of your app ecosystems.

2. Include an Enterprise App Store in your MAM solution for distributing and managing enterprise applications from a single window. Before choosing and downloading an application, administrators must:

Study the mobile app for its authenticity
Read the app privacy policy for what kind of data is being collected
Ensure that the mobile application allows you to change your privacy settings

MAM solutions must allow administrators to send alerts and reminders to smartphone owners if any significant information is being collected by any mobile application on the device.

3. Conceal employee personal info and location coordinates from the corporate eye with mobile security solutions. This is a popular, easy and effective way of adding privacy protection and ensuring that Personally Identifiable Information (PII) is being blocked in the enterprise world. The mobile security solution must disable:

App inventory reporting of personal applications installed on the device for restricting the administrators in gaining access into a smartphone owners personal app ecosystem
Location reporting to prevent access to indicators such as physical address, geographical coordinates, IP address and Wi-Fi SSID

4. Deploy mobile security solutions that suppress privacy concerns holistically. The idea is to delimit not only app privacy but also mobile privacy concerns to prevent any data breaches and simultaneously ensure a quintessential user experience. Employees may be apprehensive about using their personal mobile devices for business purposes if policies and processes are not in place to protect their privacy.

An extra level of protection finally comes from using dual persona solutions. With this “container” like approach enterprises can separate the work and personal areas on the phone. Smartphone owners can then easily toggle across work and personal spaces and IT administrators can be assured that all business intellectual data is accessed only by authorized personnel.

Gartner Predicts Waning of Corporate Owned Devices

Tue, 07 May 2013 15:23:34 +0000

Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) has transcended from buzz word to business as usual at a blistering rate. While there are definitive challenges associated with this open era of mobile information sharing, the boons in productivity are already apparent. Organizations that continue to shun the BYOD trend will be at a significant disadvantage as analysts across the board are showing BYOD permeating across all industries in coming years.

Take for example a recent BYOD prediction from Gartner, essentially stating BYOD will be less an option and more a mandate for employment. It’s a bold statement that has led to a major uproar among analysts and enterprise executives. This change will necessitate controls like Mobile Device Management (MDM) and Mobile Application Management (MAM) to effectively manage and secure smartphones and tablets, but also force a completely new way of looking at the IT and employee relationship.

50% of Companies Can’t Be Wrong About BYOD

Gartner’s research recently indicated that half of all businesses in the United States and abroad will demand that employees participate in BYOD programs in the very near future.

50% of Companies Can’t Be Wrong About BYOD

Gartner’s research recently indicated that half of all businesses in the United States and abroad will demand that employees participate in BYOD programs in the very near future. David Willis, Gartner analyst and the firm's acting Vice President, wrote the article in reaction to a survey of CIOs that revealed many executives are planning to halt device provisioning by 2016. The next three years will show a shifting of IT’s budget from device provisioning to coffers set in place for BYOD allowances.

While the current widespread popularity of BYOD has been known for many years, this report indicates that mobility-first strategies will be apparent in the majority of companies within the next three years. Still, Willis explained that enterprises will need to evaluate BYOD more comprehensively to ensure that these efforts are well-founded, and come with the returns they expect.

BYOD Backlash in Job Hunt?

ZDNet recently explained that should Gartner's prediction manifest into reality the ramifications will likely be serious for employees. Will applicants be deterred by having to purchase devices for a job or shy away at this encroachment of business apps on their personal devices?

Currently there seems to be little fear from both a cost and invasion of privacy perspective. Most professionals already own some type of mobile device, since they are simply a tool for living. As for privacy, mobile device management from companies like MaaS360 can easily ensure the separation of personal and work data inherently or offer added protection through a Secure Productivity Suite.

Developing, Managing, and Securing Mobile Apps in the Enterprise

Fri, 03 May 2013 17:34:09 +0000

As enterprise mobility continues to expand and shift rapidly, business executives and IT strategists have worked to develop new methods of optimizing bring your own device (BYOD). One of the prevailing trends in BYOD has been the proliferation of enterprise application development, as more businesses move away from purchasing apps and toward making their own.

In these environments, mobile app management (MAM) solutions are essential, as unmonitored apps can be more disruptive than productive. The growing demand for specialized application development has led to a major shift in software development, which includes the increasing number of executives who have staffed their businesses with seasoned IT professionals.

As many companies will be somewhat new to the application development and software creation processes, executives need to ensure that they are procuring the necessary resources to make the strategy work.

Taking the applicable approach

TechTarget recently reported that companies have been forced to decide between outsourcing app development tasks to external firms or developing their own in a do-it-yourself fashion. According to the news provider, organizations will often have to pay higher fees over time when outsourcing mobile application development, especially when the desired software is complex.

However, cloud computing has offered enterprises with an opportunity to become more active in the app development process, especially Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS). This technology offers the scalability and usability necessary to begin and continue developing mobile applications, even for those who have not done so in the past.

Regardless of which strategy is chosen, TechTarget asserted that the majority of companies are looking to create their own corporate applications rather than purchasing out-of-the-box products. This trend is expected to intensify in the coming years, as more businesses are expected to move past the simply BYOD launch phase and into the optimization process.

TechTarget added that the applications of such software development strategies are endless, and always work best when the company has a clear goal for each effort. For example, the news provider cited the success of one project at a convention center in Texas, which developed an application to store, access and manipulate blueprints.

This effort paid off, as it improved productivity among employees while decreasing the costs of printing out extensive blueprints.

Now that you’ve developed apps, how will you manage them?

It doesn’t matter whether an app is developed in-house, at an outsourcing firm or purchased off the internet. MAM is essential to ensure the integrity of data and enterprise networks. Further, applications that are never assessed or evaluated could hinder productivity through the disruption of services and a variety of other issues.

MaaS360 is among the most advanced MAM solutions on the market today, offering a variety of benefits to adopters. For one, our cloud-based platform simplifies and speeds up the overall mobile application management process. Not only is it intuitive, it comes with full operational lifecycle management capabilities.

After implementation, companies can protect enterprise apps by leveraging a mobile application container with full operational and security management, helping to reduce risk of sensitive data leakage. Mobile application workflows and app updates will be streamlined through complete lifecycle management.

5 step checklist for total app security

If you are looking for secure use of mobile apps in your environment, MaaS360 Mobile Application Security helps companies:

Enforce compliance checks
Restrict copy and paste processes
Provide real-time alerts for violations
Authenticate users before accessing apps
Leverage app wrapper or SDK to contain apps

Download the MaaS360 Secure Productivity Suite data sheet today to learn more about how MaaS360 can help manage and secure data beyond applications, including emails, contacts, calendars, documents and the Web. Or click below to register for our upcoming webinar on May 16, where we’ll provide a complete demo of the powerful new suite that helps IT boost productivity and mitigate risks in the BYOD era.

Balancing Mobile Security and Productivity with BYOD Privacy

Wed, 01 May 2013 14:00:38 +0000

Though today’s mobile ecosystem is bustling with new features, application and product launches, it is not doing enough to cater to enterprise security and privacy needs. Second to mobile security, mobile privacy is an emerging, sensitive issue for many bring your own device (BYOD) workers. A recent survey conducted by Ars Technica revealed that:

34% of mobile owners are looking for mobile services or features that divide the work and personal space
22% were interested in the mobile feature or service if the costs were absorbed by the company
19% were only interested if the product or service was user-friendly

These percentages indicate that the BYOD user community expects different mobile strategies to be developed by IT that will be account for their personal privacy when using mobile devices. Similar types of demands from BYODers across all industries have made the protection of end user privacy a key deliverable for all BYOD programs.

For the same reasons, demand has risen for privacy safeguarding solutions that protect against leakage of both personal and corporate data. The mobile ecosystem is often flooded with news of mobile applications and mobile games violating a user’s privacy or collecting data without the users consent. When it comes to enterprises, it is important that access to networks and important software applications is controlled and monitored.

Addressing Mobile Security While Accounting for BYOD Privacy

IT executives must consider technologies that allow them to divide and isolate the work environment on a mobile device to provide seamless security and productivity. In the event that a device is lost or the user leaves the company, the privacy safeguarding technology must ensure that only the business data is wiped off and the user’s personal data is untouched.

Some technology approaches for addressing mobile security while maintaining BYOD privacy are:

Secure Data Container

This technique encapsulates business sensitive information and data in an encrypted or policy defined space or folder. Since a BYOD worker’s complete work activity is executed from this sandboxed area, movement of data is limited and the chances of sensitive business information getting mixed up with personal data are profoundly reduced. Apart from facilitating smooth and frictionless business communication, the solution does not steal away the complete device and application control from the BYOD participant.

One popular approach to enable a secure container on a mobile device is a dual persona solution, which is essentially the administration of two independent user environments to separate the “work” from “personal” data and experience on a mobile device.

However, device owners are compelled to use only the business applications available in the container, such as email and calendar, for work communication that are separate from their native email and device applications. This may cause some discomfort for the users, but IT must walk them through the importance of this strategy in meeting their data security goals. In many cases, workers prefer this separation of their work from their personal data, as evidenced by Ars Technica’s survey results.

App Wrapping

This is a popular technique for curbing the rising mobile application malware menace. Similar to data containerization technique, each application is wrapped in its unique container. IT can then add multiple layers of protections and monitor app behavior by defining granular security policies.

Content Stripping

This mobile security solution strips sensitive content from the email, like attachments, images, text, etc., stores the stripped content on a remote server or a defined location on the device, and then directs the user to retrieve the content from a secure application where the flow of content can be controlled.

The key downside to this approach is a disjointed user experience. The user would receive an email with no text and no attachments and would be required to launch another application to securely access the text and attachments.

Secure Document Sharing

This technique permits mobile users to read, edit and share sensitive business documents in an encrypted and secured container. IT can further augment the security on a specific document by defining more advanced security policies and enabling authorized access. A good use case of this technology is in the retail sectors where the management must ensure that all the tablets on the retail floors are updated with the current product and inventory information.

Learn how different approaches can work in tandem. Try out MaaS360 Secure Productivity Suite today. Unlike other solutions, our solution delivers a dual persona approach to separate corporate information on the same device while providing comprehensive data leak prevention (DLP) features to secure devices, emails, applications, documents and Web browsing.

Education Mobility – No Hiding at the Back of the Class

Fri, 26 Apr 2013 16:14:46 +0000

Today’s students have my deepest sympathies. Back in the Paleolithic days of education, when chalk choked the air and gargantuan sized text books roamed the earth; slackers, the uninspired or just general rabble rousers had a powerful weapon at their disposal – the teacher’s line of sight. To speak more specifically, these miscreants could always find a way to procure the seats that were out of that line of sight, whether taking peripheral vision positions or slouching behind the more eager learners in the classroom.

Smartphones & Tablets – A Rabble Rousers Worst Enemy

Now, thanks to the proliferation of smartphones and tablets, whether student owned in a Bring Your Own Device Program (BYOD), or offered by the school itself, there is nowhere in the classroom for students to hide. Education engagement Apps like Learning Catalytics (recently acquired by learning tool juggernaut Pearson) have empowered educators in K-12 all the way up to higher Ed with a 360 degree periscope view of the classroom.

“Submit” to Never Raising Your Hand Again

We all remember the one student whose angelic hand would shoot up like an Apollo 11 rocket at even the most complex conundrums thrown out by teachers and professors, now that student will have to settle for gold stars at home with this leveling of the playing field. Interactive engagement Apps produced by the likes of Pearson coupled with the power of the touch screen can now make every student go the chalkboard at the same time without ever leaving their desks. Multiple choice questions, geometric manipulations, even the attachment of images for “Name that President” moments can be delivered to all students instantly.

Teachers Get Eyes in the Back of Their Heads

While there is woe in this new world of classroom transparency for some students, there is nary a downside for teachers. With controls from their iPad or Android devices, teachers can now see every single answer every single question…every single time.

Taking things to the next level, once the answers are submitted teachers can then do pairing exercises to match the accelerated students with others to foster collaborative peer learning.

Can IT Meet the Challenge? If Armed Correctly, You Bet!

With any new technology, IT can take two paths. There’s the ostrich system of letting these new technologies permeate the school with no controls or security. This would be a fine approach assuming the institution has a student base of less than twenty; a reality that only occurs in Walnut Grove inside Laura Ingalls class.

The practical and pragmatic approach is of course for IT to manage these devices; yes including the student-owned Bring Your Own Devices (assuming you don’t have the budget to buy every student a laptop or tablet). With Mobile Application Management (MAM), IT can distribute Learning Catalytics and any other App to all or select groups of students and teachers. Taking things a step further, IT can also ensure that every moment is used for learning time with Secure Browser control to ensure only sites that are learning focused will be accessed during school time. Tomorrow’s classroom is here for the school districts ready to embrace it.

Separate Work & Play on Mobile Devices in the BYOD Era

Thu, 25 Apr 2013 19:53:28 +0000

The consumerization of IT has continued building momentum since its onset, presenting enterprise IT with the unprecedented challenge of balancing end user wants and needs with the best interests of their organization. While best practices and policies related to bring your own device (BYOD) remain in flux, enterprises are beginning to deploy the most effective technologies, rolling them out with more efficiency than ever before.

Be a protector of personal devices

MSN recently reported that while employees widely prefer BYOD allowances, many are concerned about the privacy of their personal information given the controls used by their employers. According to the news provider, experts recommend that businesses take the safest path possible to BYOD policy creation, ensuring that corporate data and networks are protected from the risks posed by personal device use.

However, companies still need to balance between usability and security, as well as employee privacy and protection of corporate data. This need has led to an increased demand for dual persona mobility management solutions, and this trend is expected to continue for years to come.

According to CITE World, dual persona processes were widely discussed by speakers and participants at a conference in Barcelona, who described it as a way to preserve corporate data integrity and maintain employee privacy. Following this protocol helps BYOD policies garner strong participation rates and yield productivity gains while keeping critical information safe.

Separating corporate and personal data

MaaS360 recently announced a Secure Productivity Suite which can be implemented to support dual personal for iOS and Android operating systems. The new Secure Productivity Suite includes secure mail, application security, secure document sharing and a secure browser. Businesses can leverage existing infrastructure investments, as there is no need to install new on-site appliances that intercept company email. Other components of the MaaS360 Secure Productivity Suite include the elimination of scaling issues and chance for email outages, while offline security and controlled movement of email attachments and texts are provided to prevent data leakage. Click here to read the official press release.

MaaS360 remains at the forefront of enterprise mobility management solutions, taking strides to ensure in the newest trends in the BYOD era are met with proper support. If you're interested in trying out MaaS360 for your BYOD strategy, consider signing up for a free 30 day trial today.

4 Cures for Healthcare Mobility Management Ailments

Tue, 16 Apr 2013 15:51:22 +0000

Mobile technology is transforming the healthcare industry, and mobile health (also known as mHealth) is on the rise. This infographic from AlliedHealthWorld highlights how mHealth has changed the way the medical professionals consume and process information, communicate and engage with their patients, and most importantly, how they aid them in making a more intelligent and digital diagnosis. Outside the realm of patient care, some individuals have taken to various mobile health applications as a means to monitor their own health. These apps enable them to retrieve wellness and disease prevention information—providing them a way to send updates to their healthcare providers.

As mhealth gains popularity, protecting and securing health information on mobile devices has become a key challenge for IT in healthcare. A recent survey released by PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP explains that while tech-savvy physicians and hospital staff save time by using their bring your own device (BYOD) devices to access patient health records, around 40% of patients are concerned about the privacy of their medical information.

Unprotected BYOD mobile devices coupled with unguarded cloud storage services make the patient data more vulnerable to data breaches. The threats further multiply when BYOD owners access healthcare data or exchange sensitive information over public wireless networks. Maintaining control and monitoring behavior on BYOD devices is a key challenge faced by healthcare IT.

Cloud services are a popular, affordable and an efficient way to store data amongst BYODers. Physicians and researchers often prefer cloud based services to maintain transparency and fluid interaction with their peers and patients. Though cloud solutions facilitate ease of sharing and quicker diagnosis, patient data privacy is largely at risk. Thus, IT must monitor data activity in the cloud to uphold adherence with HIPAA guidelines. Also, healthcare organizations must ensure that healthcare providers and professionals comply with HIPAA=instituted privacy and security regulations.

Collating your BYOD strategy components

Granted that 85% of hospitals are pro-BYOD, and the remainder are gearing up, IT must ensure their strategy answers to the following mobility security & management concerns:

How will you ensure that the privacy and security of the patient data is not breached?
What are your practices for increasing patient satisfaction while simultaneously mitigating security risks?
What technology are you leveraging to successfully implement your BYOD program?

The BYOD strategy must be comprised of regulations and policies that:

Account for the fluid nature of healthcare regulatory ecosystem
Defines the end-user’s bring your own device (BYOD) experience
Safeguard the healthcare data

Here are four effective ways to hurdle your healthcare security challenges in the BYOD era:

Enforce mobile policies that close out security loopholes. Here are a few examples of how this can be accomplished:

Define user access control polices to ensure only trusted source of users access hospital networks
Ensure that sensitive information is encrypted on all corporate-owned and BYOD devices
Permit patient data to be accessible only over secured links or over secure browser on BYOD devices
Define rules that ensure data is view-only (not editable) on BYOD devices

Deploy a private app store to ensure hospital data is consumed and processed over a secured tunnel
Separate work and personnel data on mobile devices, instilling confidence in both the patient and the BYOD owner that data is secure and unexposed
Spend time training staff on mobile device use best practices and create different educational tools like emails, videos, tutorials and quick reference guides to make the BYOD program incubation process simple, smooth and efficient

Curing Healthcare Mobility Management Ailments: Lessons for IT from HiMSS13

Join us for today's webinar at 2:00 pm Eastern US, 11:00 am Pacific. Fiberlink Mobile MaaSter, Mike Jankovic will be joined by special guest Susan Nunziata of EnterpriseEfficiency.com to discuss common healthcare mobility challenges and best ways to overcome them. Susan will recap major findings from HiMSS13, while Mike will walk through ways in which mobile device management (MDM) is helping healthcare organizations today. Click here to register.

Smartphone Stolen? Tablet Taken? There's MDM for That

Fri, 12 Apr 2013 14:20:27 +0000

Organizations of all industries and sizes continue to focus on implementing bring your own device (BYOD) and other mobility strategies to improve agility and drive productivity. However, essentially every IT professional has viewed this trend as a serious threat if policies and governance controls are not implemented in a comprehensive and proactive fashion.

Among the greatest risks to IT security is the event of a lost or stolen BYOD device. Mobile device management (MDM) solutions, especially those with remote wipe capabilities, are essential. They are the best way to ensure a lost or stolen smartphone or tablet does not lead to leakage of proprietary information or access to the corporate network.

Mobile devices slipping through the cracks

Some of the biggest, most highly esteemed companies in the world are struggling to tend to their technology flocks today. SC Magazine recently reported that the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) misplaced 195 of its corporate-owned laptops over the course of a year. According to the news provider, the BBC also lost hundreds of other devices in the past two and a half years, including smartphones and tablets.

Since 2010, the corporation reported 399 laptops, 347 smartphones and 39 tablets went missing, amounting to a grand total of 785. This knowledge was obtained by Veracode, an application analysis firm, through a Freedom of Information request last month. While the costs of the lost or stolen devices themselves are high, experts warn that the security threats are far more severe.

"This is yet further evidence that the more portable the device, the greater chance that it can and will go missing," David Lingenfelter, Information Security Officer of Fiberlink, told SC Magazine. "This has a direct correlation with sensitive data ending up where it should not. Organizations need to adopt technology that provides a safe mobile computing environment. Any delay in a department's ability to support and secure the latest devices will increase risk, cause gaps in security and decrease staff productivity."

The risks associated with stolen or lost employee-owned devices can be efficiently mitigated with the right controls and solutions.

Overcome your losses! Win with MDM

Private enterprises and public sector organizations alike are turning to MaaS360 for its unique ability to handle a diverse assortment of pressing mobility management needs. Our cloud-based solution is hardwired for adherence to a variety of regulatory compliance statutes, enabling total control of all devices for optimized security. MaaS360 offers the accountability and scalability necessary to uphold a secure and successful BYOD strategy.

If you're interested in taking MaaS360 for a test drive, consider signing up for our free 30 day trial today. You'll have your devices up and running in minutes.

Facebook Home: Moan...Moan on the Range for IT

Mon, 08 Apr 2013 09:00:00 +0000

How many raging narcissists, chatty Cathy’s, social voyeurs, or simply Millennials occupy seats at your organization? Start the headcount today, because they are about to change the course of Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) for IT.

When I say change the course, I actually mean induce a new layer of frustration and security sieves for corporations trying to embrace mobility for efficiency. Yesterday, each of these Android touting seekers of attention or looky loos at the life of others had their grandest mobile wishes answered with the announcement of Facebook Home.

Facebook Home Ate My Lock

What is Facebook Home? Basically, it’s all Facebook all the time on your tablets or smartphones. In theory it’s not that different from current “skins” added by manufacturers like Samsung and HTC for product differentiation, but that’s theory.

In actuality, Facebook Home permeates all facets of the device – from hardware to every other app you use – which is great if Facebook is the reason you bought a smartphone. If you were planning on using that same phone for business, how do you plan on getting actual work done? I’m in marketing, so Facebook does devour a portion of my daily activities, but certainly not enough to justify the need for my friend’s circular “chat heads” living at the top of my Twitter app or Salesforce. Nor is it enough time to warrant home screen access to Facebook services and most certainly not enough to justify the ability to share a picture of my lunchtime latte without having to unlock the device. This is what should truly terrify every security wonk that has purview over mobility.

Does Your Company Value Mobile Security? Tread Carefully

I could talk functionality frustrations all day. Yes, I resent any app that puts my home screen where all my apps live down a level, requiring more finger waggling than a Doug Henning magic show to gain access to the device’s most basic feature. It’s wonderful that today, the home screen will show the latest updates from my retired parents in N.C., but it will not be wonderful when that space is eventually displaying an ad for products.

Security and management is what makes this new Facebook nirvana the most terrifying.

Want to know where your phone is? Simply call Facebook, they’ll know based off of your GPS. All check-ins with FourSquare will likewise shoot data back to Facebook so it can serve up ads for more pizza while you’re eating pizza. Oh, and did I mention that little part about being able to do activities without unlocking the tablet or phone?

Then there is the poor IT professional who already has enough headaches with Android fragmentation in a BYOD environment. Now, not only will you have to worry about the varying buffet items like éclairs and jellybeans and all of their various point based permutations therein, you will have the extra layer of Facebook Home munching away on users data.

The simple answer to manage Facebook Home is mobile device management (MDM). It provides IT the power to allow or disallow varying mobile operating systems. In the past most users didn’t care if they were forced into a certain OS. Heck, most users have no idea which version of Android they are currently running. They’ll notice the loss of Facebook Home though, and you can be sure a cacophony of whines will arise when IT won’t allow it.

But not allow you must. Sure IT needs to serve end-users, but never at the cost of compromising sensitive company data or enabling time wasters… like Facebook.

Shifting Mobility Strategies for Evolving Browser Use

Fri, 05 Apr 2013 13:57:58 +0000

Modern employees and consumers more connected than ever before, using smartphones and tablets to dig up information on virtually any topic. Web browsing, when done properly, can improve productivity and engagement among employees though a failure to educate on and govern use of such services could pose significant security threats.

Customization and ease-of-use have become two of the most preferred components of web browsing, and many providers of such services are beginning to cater to these desires. In the same way, employers are looking for ways to customize their governance approaches, ensuring security through advanced enterprise mobility management (EMM) solutions.

Googled Anything Lately?

The New York Times recently reported that the market for web-based search tools continues to increase in size, albeit Google remains well ahead of the competition in this space. According to the news provider, the search giant possesses 66 percent of the market with competitors slowly chipping away.

The source explained that search engines are diverging. Certain niche offerings now capitalize on consumer desires for quick and accurate responses. NYT cited LinkedIn and Amazon as the two major websites where consumers go more regularly than Google when they need employment or shopping information, respectively.

The Transformation of Search

These new user habits illustrate the shift toward a web-browsing market that is diverse and filled with more options than the traditionally sole leaders in the space: Google and Yahoo. The news provider also noted that the use of customized web browsing services has led to an increased opportunity to create more informed business strategies.

For example, search terms are becoming more direct and specific than ever before. At the same time, keyword and popular phrase information is readily available to marketers. Regardless of what a company's mobility strategy may be, managers and executives need to ensure that they are monitoring and controlling web browser use for security and productivity purposes.

Secure Browser + MAM = Safe, Productive BYOD

Enterprises can implement MaaS360 Secure Browser to ensure that all search activity of employees is productive and secure. The product protects organizations by blocking websites based upon content categories, and allows exceptions on a customized basis. Millions of URLs are categorized into 60 unique silos, helping expedite the customization process.

Additionally, enterprises can couple this service with MaaS360 for mobile application management (MAM), which will give complete control of app based web access on employee-owned devices.

Giving BYOD the OK? Here’s What Comes Next

Thu, 04 Apr 2013 14:50:21 +0000

The Millennial generation that could completely transform your business doesn’t prefer to use their personal device at work. They expect it. This very attitude is catching on with all generations: by next year, Juniper Research expects 350 million employee-owned devices will be up and running in the enterprise. The validity of these trends and projections remains unquestioned by forward thinking business decision makers, whose arguments against the tolerability of bring your own device (BYOD) have in turn lost steam. Room has finally been cleared for more germane topics of discussion.

We Are Pro BYOD. Now What?

Guard now down, the new challenge of the day is finding a way to uphold security and productivity whilst accommodating for newcomer mobile technology. Is it realistic to assume that smartphones and tablets, their data, apps, and docs can be accessed, shared, and utilized in harmony – all while connected to the longstanding corporate network? Each device brings with it too many unknowns and too much potential for disaster to simply give everyone the green light…. right?

If You Build It, They Will Come

A few games removed from opening day of baseball season, this cause and effect example from Field of Dreams could not be avoided. But really, now is the time for you to take a step back and consider the big picture: the players (BYOD users and their devices), the game (apps, docs, mail, and web), and the stadium in which it is played (your corporate network). In the case of BYOD, the adage can be reworked to they are coming. What have you built?

Before you ponder how horribly your inaugural season could go, take a breather. Step two of BYOD is not as mind boggling or stressful as it may sound. With cloud-based mobile device management (MDM) and mobile application management (MAM), your Rome can be built in a day with devices and apps up and running securely in a matter of minutes. MaaS360 gives IT the assurance that the data contained on these devices are completely bridled.

Observing the Game from the Stands

There are also ways to facilitate secure, productive interactions between BYODers and your corporate networks and systems. You may have concerns about devices that have been left unmanaged. How can you see them? Or asking, in what ways can we ensure unmanaged devices remain unconnected? What can we see about a device that is attempting to attain access?

For these types of questions, look no further than network access control (NAC). Whether your strategy is shifting from containment, to embracement, to blocking devices altogether, you’ll have the control and visibility required to do so.

NAC + MDM + MAM = EMM

Our customers demand complete end-to-end visibility and control of their mobile devices and apps, as well as their network for comprehensive enterprise mobility management (EMM). A new partnership between MaaS360 and Cisco enables visibility, assessment, interaction, and even access restriction for devices that could be negligently entangled with your corporate network—actions that pose risk of a security breach or unforeseen data leakage.

Cisco ISE provides IT "visibility to all mobile devices — rogue or authorized — that [are] present on the wireless network." Integrating MaaS360 with Cisco ISE gives our customers the flexibility to use device context from our platform to enforce the appropriate network access policies, while MaaS360 enforces application and data access policies. For more detailed information on ISE, please click above to view the Cisco Blog.

Aiming to provide IT complete visibility and control in the BYOD era, MaaS360 has the most extensive experience integrating with the leading NAC providers, including ForeScout Technologies and Aruba Networks. These solutions have each respectively been recognized by Gartner as Leader and Visionary in the Magic Quadrant for Network Access Control. MDM and NAC integration gives customers the ability to phase in BYOD and “right size” their mobile security investments for different classes of users, departments, geographies, devices and applications, and apply the technological approach that best meets the need of those use cases, all from a unified platform.

If you are looking to get started, click here to sign up for a 30 day free trial of MaaS360. During your evaluation, our Mobile MaaSters will work with you to determine whether NAC features and functionality should be combined with MDM to meet the needs of your organization.

Moving to Mobile Payments in Retail? MDM Crucial for Success

Fri, 29 Mar 2013 14:32:05 +0000

By launching bring your own device (BYOD) programs, forward thinking firms of today continue to capitalize on the popularity of smartphones and tablets among employees. One of many industries that are embracing this trend, the retail sector has had to make swift adjustments to adapt to the growing wave of consumer payments being made via mobile devices.

Many firms within the retail sector have already begun benefitting from a variety of mobility strategies such as accepting payments through consumers' smartphones at the point of sale. New applications are strengthening the customer care portion of retail operations, including marketing and in-store assistance. Reasons for new mobility initiatives notwithstanding, retailers will need to implement mobile device management (MDM) solutions to ensure security and spread of productivity.

”Cha-ching” a sound of the past?

Two leading technology research firms recently released predictions and summaries regarding the exponential growth of mobile payments among a variety of industries. First, Gartner analysts said that the number of mobile payments users would grow from 160.5 million in 2011 to 212.2 million in 2012, though the final tally has not yet been released.

On top of the growth of users, Gartner stated that mobile payments transactions increased 61.9 percent between 2011 and 2012, breaching the $171 billion mark last year.

"We expect global mobile transaction volume and value to average 42 percent annual growth between 2011 and 2016, and we are forecasting a market worth $617 billion with 448 million users by 2016," Sandy Shen, research director at Gartner, explained. "This will bring opportunities for service and solution providers who will need to cater to the local demand patterns to customize their offerings."

What's more, Forrester predicted that U.S. mobile payments will increase at a compound annual growth rate of 48 percent between 2012 and 2017. This would represent an increase from a $12.8 billion market last year to $90 billion in 2017.

These predictions illustrate the importance of creating a mobile payments strategy soon.

Planning for mobile payments

More companies are beginning to accept mobile payments. Philly.com recently reported that companies like Barneys New York are enabling the use of iPads and other tablets to accept credit and debit card payments at the point of sale. The source explained that this improved efficiency substantially, as mobile payment processing systems are often much more affordable than traditional cash registers.

Executives are beginning to jump into the mobile payments game early to get a jump on the competition, as some experts have forecast the global landscape to approach a cashless marketplace in the coming decades.

"The traditional cash register is heading toward obsolescence," Danielle Vitale, chief operating officer of Barneys New York, told the source.

Still, there are a variety of challenges that need to be overcome before successful and secure use of mobile devices to accept payments from consumers. Retailers will need to comply with Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards (PCI DSS) to ensure the protection of potentially damaging consumer information and avoid crippling sanctions or fines.

Secure, productive mobility in retail

Retailers can gain a substantial advantage by taking a comprehensive approach to mobility, incorporating payment processing strategies with BYOD initiatives. BYOD can improve productivity among retail employees in a variety of ways. For example, one application that has become more popular can ping employees through their mobile devices when a customer seems to be lost in the store.

To ensure the proper use of all mobile devices, whether they are being used to process transactions or boost productivity among employees, retailers will need to implement the right solutions. Helping to uphold compliance with PCI DSS and a variety of other regulations, MaaS360 is the perfect enterprise mobility management suite for retailers.

What is MDM? [VIDEO]

Tue, 26 Mar 2013 14:09:37 +0000

&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/div&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt; &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Hi, everyone, and welcome to our video blog on &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;a href="[sitetree_link id=1145]" mce_href="[sitetree_link id=1145]"&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;MaaSters Center&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;. I'm Neil Florio, and today I have Jimmy Tsang with me. How's it going, Jimmy?&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt; &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Great. How you doing, Neil?&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt; &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Doing great. Thanks. Today we're going to talk about a very exciting topic-- &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;a href="[sitetree_link id=27]" mce_href="[sitetree_link id=27]"&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Mobile Device Management&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;, or &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;a href="[sitetree_link id=27]" mce_href="[sitetree_link id=27]"&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;MDM&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;. It's one of those topics that is really top of mind today across just about every company we talk to as they start to pull together their mobile strategies. But when we typically first engage with the, customers many times they ask us simply to explain what is MDM and what can it really do for our business? So today, why don't you kick things off, Jimmy? Why don't you tell us exactly what MDM is?&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt; &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Sure. So MDM literally means &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;a href="[sitetree_link id=27]" mce_href="[sitetree_link id=27]"&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Mobile Device Management&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;. So it's software that secures, manages, and controls mobile devices in the enterprise. What's interesting about the origins of MDM is that really, today's smartphones and tablets are made for the consumer and not for the enterprise. However, what we've seen is that employees and workers are bringing these devices into the workplace.&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt; &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;So what's smart by the major manufacturers is they realize this is a huge opportunity. So what they did is they gave some MDM features and made those available so that enterprises can control and secure their devices. So really, there's a whole host of MDM security features available. Things like enforcing encryption. Requiring Pasco settings on the device. Detecting jailbroken or rooted devices, so that there's no data leakage. Disable native apps, camera, and screen capture, even. Determining the location of the device if it's lost. And perform a remote wipe of the device if it's stolen.&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt; &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;So really, there's hundreds of levers that IT can use to secure and control devices. So what kind of customer challenges are our customers facing? Which kind of challenges are our customers facing today with MDM, Neal?&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt; &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Sure. So there's a couple key things that MDM is trying to solve for our customers. First of all, it's the multi-platform challenge. So right now, organizations really need to deal with sometimes three, four different platforms, even beyond. So you've got iOS. You've got Android, which has multiple variants across different platforms. Windows Phone. So MDM really helps solve that challenge and provides a short and unified platform to be able to manage all that in a single tool.&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt; &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;What it also does is help support &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;a href="[sitetree_link id=1830]" mce_href="[sitetree_link id=1830]"&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;BYOD&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;, or &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;a href="[sitetree_link id=1830]" mce_href="[sitetree_link id=1830]"&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Bring Your Own Device&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;. So that's one of the major drivers for I IBM and essentially it's foundational prepare like so if you're allowing your employees to use their own personal devices to access corporate data. MDM can help you do that. Not only by configuring and managing the security policies over the air, but it can help you control that data and make sure that data-- if your device is lost or stolen, you can wipe that data easily from the device.&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt; &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;So ultimately, what it's doing is helping to reduce the risk and protect those corporate resources. So the networks, your corporate data. MDM helps you manage all that. And most companies have some sort of regulations they need to deal with. So MDM helps ensure that, and shows that you are compliant with whatever regulations that you do have.&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt; &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;But ultimately, what MDM is enabling today is the transformation of business. So the use of mobile applications, of documents, MDM is really helping organizations find new ways to use these mobile devices to help them become more competitive in the marketplace today. We have some very specific challenges that customers are using across different industries. So Jimmy, why don't you tell us a little bit about some of those use cases that we see.&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt; &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Sure. We can talk about hundreds of use cases, but let's bring up a couple that we see today. So in health care, we see shared devices between nurses and doctors in a hospital setting. What they can do now is be able to log in-- so say, a doctor logs in-- and get the apps and the data that they need at that point of care, literally at the hospital bed. Before, it used to be tied to terminals or to some type of PC. But now they can use a tablet at the point of care.&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt; &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;In retail, what we've seen is, again-- before, it was using the checkout line or the customer service terminal in order to look at inventory or even check out a customer. These days, they can use shared devices and go down the aisle with the customer and actually check out a customer at the shelf instead of at the line. So there's tons of use cases. And it's a really exciting space for MDM.&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt; &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;But where do you think MDM is going? What's the future of MDM, Neal?&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt; &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Sure. So mobile goes real fast. And we always get asked, what is next? Now that I've got my baseline mobile management in place, where do I take this next? So we see-- mobility is moving out to the edges of the organizations. We're getting pushed out, to be honest. We're the core mobile users that you traditionally had in an organization. Now it's getting pushed out, as Jimmy said, to every area of your business.&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt; &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;So it's not just about managing the users or managing device-- managing users as well, too. So many users will have multiple devices. So you have to manage that across all the devices that they have. They have applications. They have documents they need to push out. Ultimately, what you want to do is provide the best use case-- the best user experience.&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt; &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Users love these devices, so you don't want to necessarily lock them down into any particular area. You want to give them the freedom to be able to use the native capabilities as much as they can, still while being able to secure the information that you need to. So MDM is really evolving beyond just managing security policies to really managing security content device and supporting the business.&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt; &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;So the broader trend we're seeing in the industry is enterprise mobility management. So that really embraces a much wider set of capabilities and use cases within an organization. But we're seeing now is when it comes to having to secure the information, containerization and enterprise DLP types of controls are really what's next in MDM.&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt; &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;There's a couple different approaches to that. Dual persona is one of those, where you can create two different spaces on device and be able to manage data separately. So if it's personal data, you can leave that alone. And you can manage all of the corporate data in a particular workspace. Also, context-based security. So applying policy based on location, time, or evens that happen. So a little bit more sophisticated.&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt; &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;And then finally, when you see BYOD get pushed out within organizations, it's all about protecting user privacy. So making sure that their personal information is really kept personal. So ultimately, what you want to do is, you want to make mobility easy for users and IT. And the technology really should not get in the way.&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt; &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;And every use case is different, even within an organization. So an MDM tool should be able to address all the different use cases. So from BYOD to some of the more interesting use cases that Jimmy talked about. So our advice to trial an MDM solution and see for yourself what it can do for your business.&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt; &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;So I appreciate the time and look forward to talking to you again.&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;

Hi, everyone, and welcome to our video blog on MaaSters Center. I'm Neil Florio, and today I have Jimmy Tsang with me. How's it going, Jimmy?

Great. How you doing, Neil?

Doing great. Thanks. Today we're going to talk about a very exciting topic-- Mobile Device Management, or MDM. It's one of those topics that is really top of mind today across just about every company we talk to as they start to pull together their mobile strategies. But when we typically first engage with the customers many times they ask us simply to explain what is MDM and what can it really do for our business? So today, why don't you kick things off, Jimmy? Why don't you tell us exactly what MDM is?

What is MDM?

MDM literally means Mobile Device Management. So it's software that secures, manages, and controls mobile devices in the enterprise. What's interesting about the origins of MDM is that really, today's smartphones and tablets are made for the consumer and not for the enterprise. However, what we've seen is that employees and workers are bringing these devices into the workplace.

So major device manufacturers are smart and soon realized this is a huge opportunity. So what they did is they created some MDM features and made those available so that enterprises can control and secure their devices. So really, there's a whole host of MDM security features available. Things like enforcing encryption. Requiring passcode settings on the device. Detecting jailbroken or rooted devices, so that there's no data leakage. Disabling native apps, camera, and screen capture, even. Determining the location of the device if it's lost. And performing a remote wipe of the device if it's stolen.

So really, there's hundreds of levers that IT can use to secure and control devices. So what kinds of challenges are our customers facing today with mobile devices, Neil?

Multiple Platforms, BYOD, Data Security, Industry Regulations

There's a couple key things that MDM is trying to solve for our customers. First of all, it's the multi-platform challenge. So right now, organizations really need to deal with sometimes three, four different platforms, even beyond. So you've got iOS. You've got Android, which has multiple variants across different platforms. Windows Phone. So MDM really helps solve that challenge and provides a short and unified platform to be able to manage all that in a single tool.

What it also does is help support BYOD, or Bring Your Own Device. So that's one of the major drivers for I IBM and essentially it's foundational prepare like so if you're allowing your employees to use their own personal devices to access corporate data. MDM can help you do that. Not only by configuring and managing the security policies over the air, but it can help you control that data and make sure that data-- if your device is lost or stolen, you can wipe that data easily from the device.

So ultimately, what it's doing is helping to reduce the risk and protect those corporate resources. So the networks, your corporate data. MDM helps you manage all that. And most companies have some sort of regulations they need to deal with. So MDM helps ensure that, and shows that you are compliant with whatever regulations that you do have.

A Gamechanger for Forward Thinking Businesses

Ultimately, what MDM is enabling today is the transformation of business. So the use of mobile applications, of documents, MDM is really helping organizations find new ways to use these mobile devices to help them become more competitive in the marketplace today. We have some very specific challenges that customers are using across different industries. So Jimmy, why don't you tell us a little bit about some of those use cases that we see.

Sure. We can talk about hundreds of use cases, but let's bring up a couple that we see today. So in healthcare, we see shared devices between nurses and doctors in a hospital setting. What they can do now is be able to log in-- so say, a doctor logs in-- and get the apps and the data that they need at that point of care, literally at the hospital bed. Before, they used to be tied to terminals or to some type of PC. But now they can use a tablet at the point of care.

In retail, what we've seen is, again-- before, it was using the checkout line or the customer service terminal in order to look at inventory or even check out a customer. These days, they can use shared devices and go down the aisle with the customer and actually check out a customer at the shelf instead of at the line. So there's tons of use cases. And it's a really exciting space for MDM.

But where do you think MDM is going? What's the future of MDM, Neil?

Total Enterprise Mobility

Mobile goes real fast. And we always get asked, what is next? Now that I've got my baseline mobile management in place, where do I take this next? So we see-- mobility is moving out to the edges of the organizations. We're getting pushed out, to be honest. We're the core mobile users that you traditionally had in an organization. Now it's getting pushed out, as Jimmy said, to every area of your business.

So it's not just about managing the users or managing device-- managing users as well, too. So many users will have multiple devices. So you have to manage that across all the devices that they have. They have applications. They have documents they need to push out. Ultimately, what you want to do is provide the best use case-- the best user experience.

Users love these devices, so you don't want to necessarily lock them down into any particular area. You want to give them the freedom to be able to use the native capabilities as much as they can, while still being able to secure the information that you need to. So MDM is really evolving beyond just managing security policies to really managing security, content and devices to support the business.

So the broader trend we're seeing in the industry is enterprise mobility management. So that really embraces a much wider set of capabilities and use cases within an organization. But we're seeing now is when it comes to having to secure the information, containerization and enterprise DLP types of controls are really what's next in MDM.

There's a couple different approaches to that. Dual persona is one of those, where you can create two different spaces on device and be able to manage data separately. So if it's personal data, you can leave that alone. And you can manage all of the corporate data in a particular workspace. Also, context-based security. So applying policy based on location, time, or evens that happen. So a little bit more sophisticated.

And then finally, when you see BYOD get pushed out within organizations, it's all about protecting user privacy. So making sure that their personal information is really kept personal. So ultimately, what you want to do is, you want to make mobility easy for users and IT. And the technology really should not get in the way.

And every use case is different, even within an organization. So an MDM tool should be able to address all the different use cases. So from BYOD to some of the more interesting use cases that Jimmy talked about. So our advice to trial an MDM solution and see for yourself what it can do for your business.

So I appreciate the time and look forward to talking to you again.

Wearable Mobile Devices on the Rise - Will They Reach Your Enterprise?

Fri, 22 Mar 2013 20:24:07 +0000

Although smartphones and tablets have continued exhibiting a rise in popularity, device manufacturers and software developers continue to take progressive steps toward more advanced mobile technology. Businesses that have not yet developed bring your own device (BYOD) programs—incorporating information governance strategies and enterprise mobility management solutions--might find themselves behind the productive pack by failing to adapt

Many enterprises have already started to approach mobility, while studies indicate that the majority of employees in the United States and abroad are using personal devices to access corporate data and networks, regardless of whether support is in place. In the road ahead, where do smartwatches and other wearable options fit into the picture within the enterprise?

Many new smartwatches, two few wrists

While Apple appears to be the first manufacturer to launch a smartwatch development initiative, CNN recently reported that Samsung is in the process of creating one as well. According to the news provider, Samsung's Executive Vice President, Lee Young Hee, said that his firm has been working on a smartwatch for years.

The source explained that this marks the continued competition between Samsung and Apple, as the Galaxy line of smartphones has thus far been the biggest challenge to the widely popular iPhone. Additionally, Business Insider reports that Google is working on its own smartwatch, which will run on its Android operating system.

The report explained that Google has been working on a flip-up display for a smartwatch, differentiating from Apple's product, though little information has been disclosed by either company. However, Apple's executives did recently announce that its smartwatch would be available later this year, and will run on iOS.

"Four eyes" just got cool

In one of the biggest mobile technology news stories of the year, Google released detailed information related to its Google Glass product, which might be the most progressive wearable device in production today. According to a report from Forbes, Google will tether this product with the iPhone and Android devices for better data reception.

Google Glass is expected to be the beginning of a major shift in mobile technology toward devices that can be used for a unique assortment of purposes outside the bounds of what is available today. The product has not been released for mass consumption yet, but is expected to be rolled out in the coming months.

Many experts believe that smartwatches and products similar to Google Glass will have impressive applications in the enterprise landscape, as employees will be able to use the devices more fluidly than even the most advanced smartphones and tablets. Too soon to begin preparing? Never say never: we can expect these wearable devices to enter the office by way of employees.

Wearable mobile devices: dress code violation?

As if the modern executive didn't have enough challenges to overcome regarding mobility, the new trend of wearable technology might further complicate information governance and device management strategies. Still, the most proactive companies will likely have the easiest time incorporating new technology into existing management structures.

These wearable products are expected to run on the operating systems we’ve grown accustomed to on our smartphones and tablets, and will interface with the devices as well. For this reason, enterprise mobility management suites that can ensure secure and productive use of smartphones and tablets on the market today will remain effective in the coming years, despite the rapidly evolving trends in wearable technology.

How has your organization responded to the current wave of mobile devices entering the enterprise? MaaS360 has stood out to enterprise decision makers as a cloud-based solution that can support thousands of devices in a relatively short period of time. Our award winning solution can be used in virtually any industry, even those with the most stringent regulatory compliance requirements.

BYOD Building Momentum in the Construction Industry

Fri, 15 Mar 2013 13:21:06 +0000

Largely driven by the popularity of smartphones and tablets among the general population, the consumerization of IT trend continues to heat up as workers look to use their personal devices for work purposes. Aiming to take on this trend responsibly, many businesses have implemented bring your own device (BYOD) policies in recent months, including organizations under the most stringent regulatory compliance statutes, such as the laws that oversee the medical and public sector.

In some industries, BYOD has been seen as a massive opportunity to streamline operations and corporate agility through increased productivity and efficiency, including the construction sector. As organizations in this industry often have a high number of staff members working at remote locations during projects, the utility of BYOD is obvious. With cloud-based mobile device management (MDM) solutions, construction firms can enjoy the benefits of BYOD.

Apps on the rise

Constructech recently reported that cloud-based mobile applications are becoming more popular in the construction sector, especially as these programs can help drive productivity among all staff members, regardless of geographical location. According to the news provider, more construction firms are using mobile as a way to strengthen continuity plans as well.

The source cited a study which found that 60 percent of businesses will use cloud-based systems by 2014, while mobile apps are expected to drive down expenditures substantially in the coming years. With that said, mobile application management (MAM) solutions will be imperative for construction firms that are beginning to launch an enterprise app store.

"Bring your own application (BYOA) has become as important as bring your own device (BYOD) in the development of a comprehensive mobile strategy, and the trend toward BYOA has begun to affect desktop and Web applications as well," Gartner's Vice President of Research Ian Finley explained, according to Constructech. "Enterprise app stores promise at least a partial solution but only if IT security, application, procurement, and sourcing professionals can work together to successfully apply the app store concept to their enterprises."

Constructing the right BYOD policy

Construction Business Owner recently explained that firms in the industry need to ensure that BYOD policies are tight and aligned with standing information governance protocols. According to the news provider, mobility provides construction firms with a variety of new opportunities to strengthen efficiency. Stringent policies and the ability to monitor smartphone and tablet use through MDM suites are crucial to avoid security issues.

Construction firms should consider adopting a cloud-based enterprise mobility management suite, such as MaaS360, to capitalize on the BYOD trend while avoiding the risks that come along with it.

Sir, Your Apps Doth Offend (and Expose) Thy Company

Thu, 14 Mar 2013 21:18:42 +0000

Apps, we all love 'em, we all use 'em, and we’re all leaving the enterprise more exposed than the albino beach backside of a Coppertone ad model.

Recently, Business Insider posted the top 50 iPhone apps that employees are subversively leveraging within the corporate firewall despite fervent emails from IT and general dismay. Ranked order of most to least used, here are the top 10:

Facebook
Dropbox
Google Mail
Apple iCloud
LinkedIn
Disqus
Salesforce
Amazon Web Services
Hotmail
Box

Let’s assume for a moment that completely ignoring your IT department's security concerns is a forgivable practice. Let’s also assume that no one has ever added files with sensitive information to Facebook when we meant to instead post pictures of a great pair of shoes or a cool car. What’s most alarming in this list? I’ll give you a hint: focus on the ones I've italicized.

Apps that cause IT apoplexy

The problems in this scenario are many; adding sensitive corporate material to Facebook is a faux pas of egregious proportions. At the end of the day, while it is plausible, it’s a slim chance scenario.

What should give any CIO or CSO worth their salt cause for concern are the gigabytes of data being thrown into the cloud with reckless abandon via consumerized file apps like Dropbox, iCloud, Amazon and Box.

Sure, these sites require passcode authentication, but as we all know one keystroke logger can send that Fort Knox crumbling to the ground. I wonder how many people actually log out of these apps…ever? Not often, which means anyone who grabs their mobile device (be it family or foe) has immediate access to a plethora of corporate brain trust.

Wrap that app! Or at least manage it

So what is one to do with those partaking in shenanigans on non-permissioned apps? Lack of visibility, especially in a mobile environment, is no longer an acceptable excuse. With mobile app management (MAM) solutions, IT is granted vision into every app across the enterprise, and yes this includes those brought along in accordance with a bring your own device (BYOD) program.

If employee privacy concerns arise in face of BYOD, supplementing mobile device management (MDM) with MAM can let IT and mobility business partners at the department level dictate the documents that may or may not be shared.

Basically, there are options when it comes to apps. Depending on your specific security needs, you might want to leverage the panacea of security with containerization, but that might also be overkill. At the very least you should have visibility and management before your entire enterprise is uploaded for the world to see.

5 Tips for Trimming BYOD Costs in 2013

Wed, 13 Mar 2013 18:48:54 +0000

While employees have opted to use their personal devices to attain a rich user experience and better work life balance, for many businesses a key challenge remains: unlocking the true potential of bring your own device (BYOD). As mobility gears itself to become the core of enterprise IT, senior executives are faced with the tough task of outlining a BYOD program which manages the influx of the BYOD devices on the corporate floors and controls the mobility incurred expenses of its workforce.

A recent BYOD survey indicated that the BYOD workforce, in many enterprises, were taking liberty and irresponsibly indulging in infamous spends. Some of the infamous spends of these mobile muggers were:

Irrelevant ringtones, mobile applications and premium text services
Data and voice excesses
International roaming surcharges

Understanding and analysing the true cost deliverables of a new enterprise program is essential to its successful adoption. While proactive BYOD expense management is the need of the hour, the question is – how do we do it? What provisions must be included in a BYOD expense management program? What are the plausible cost cutting measures in a BYOD program?

Hidden Costs of BYOD

A review of your corporate mobile policy is incomplete without including the expense considerations of the BYOD workforce. An Aberdeen survey conducted last year suggests that BYOD management is not as cost efficient as issuing corporate-owned devices, adding that BYOD environments make mobile expense management less efficient. BYOD may seem simple on the surface but has many hidden costs for corporates to watch for. Here are five tips for avoiding budget pitfalls oft associated with BYOD:

Maintain an understanding of end-user behavior. Employees using their personal devices for work have a tendency to accomplish their tasks by any means necessary, which at times can mean overspending. To procure a cost effective BYOD environment, it is important for IT to have visibility into their employee devices data, voice plans and billing records.
Carefully think through your reimbursement strategy. When organizations launch BYOD programs, they will typically forgo the hardware expenses of issuing smartphones and laptops and deploy a fixed stipend policy for workers that opt in to BYOD. This can however be a costly mistake. These organizations fail to realize that they will end up paying more. Where corporate-owned phones are assigned to a particular segment of individuals, BYOD programs can include everybody. Thus, when strategizing how costs will be reimbursed, identify a set group of individuals for whom you wish to issue stipends for.
Clear the air on what devices are accepted and how they'll be supported. Providing support for BYOD devices can be a tangible expense for many organizations. As BYOD programs are rolled out, the helpdesk faces the daunting task of supporting a myriad number of devices and mobile operating systems. Thus, BYOD policy agreements must clearly highlight the support clauses and level of technical support the organization will provide.
Liken your approach to pre-existing programs. Expense management protocols involving multiple departments are likely to add to the expense report processing time and money. Thus, BYOD expense management procedure must be based on a similar model of corporate-liable device expense management procedure – central management, limited signing off authorities, lesser compliance issues, and lesser usage and billing discrepancies.
Take advantage of automation to uphold compliance and security within your BYOD environment. This should also help reduce total cost of ownership. Processes and procedures involving manpower and manual work are more expensive and error-prone than practices that involve automation.

Meet Expectations with Expense Management

As a primer for expense management planning, IT must focus on strategies that render complete visibility and control over their mobile ecosystem. They must have a listing of active employees using mobile services, hardware and software inventory of corporate supplied and BYOD devices, their billing records, payment details, and popular corporate resources and software aiding in conducting smooth businesses.

This is essential as it as it renders visibility into zero usage devices and unused services. Subsequently, finance can outline optimized data and voice plans and assign them relevantly to individuals (based on their roles and needs). IT departments can too understand their technological needs and its impact on their IT budgets.

Behind the MEM Console

The key objective of a mobile expense management (MEM) solution is to drive control, efficiency and effective cost and policy management in the BYOD ecosystem. Through a single, secure MEM web console, different departments can work together to define corporate-wide expense monitoring policies and track their employee devices voice, data and international roaming outflows. Simultaneously, employees can decide to receive cost alerts regarding their data usage and derive more accountability to their device expenses.

Tablets and smartphones are packed with multimedia features but lack security features, andno BYOD environment is exclusive of security risks. This trend should not however be avoided by IT, as workers are likely to bring in and use their devices with or without a formal program in place. BYOD management therefore commands detailed planning, streamlined execution and aggressive BYOD task force education.

Mobile Device Management in HiMSS13 Spotlight

Fri, 08 Mar 2013 15:05:28 +0000

As the healthcare industry continues to become more technology-driven, legislation urges for the procurement of advanced systems that can improve patient care and spend efficiency by providers. The rise of electronic health records (EHR) systems as well as the increasing physician preference for accessibility of the digitized patient information through personal devices illustrates the need for healthcare organizations to implement mobile device management (MDM) solutions.

Bring your own device (BYOD) has spread to virtually every industry, though healthcare providers have a heavier load when it comes to the creation and enforcement of policies, as regulatory compliance is more stringent in the sector. With enterprise mobility management suites, these organizations can successfully implement BYOD, improving patient care and employee engagement.

HiMSS13 Annual Conference

Tech Page One recently published a brief on IT in healthcare, focusing on the Health Information Management Systems Society (HIMSS), which recently held its 2013 conference in New Orleans, Louisiana. The conference brings together some of the most prominent minds in the healthcare IT sector today.

As the popularity of BYOD continues to thrive, Charlotte Davies, the Lead Analyst of Ovum's IT in Healthcare Practices division, explained that mobility should be a major priority of healthcare executives in the coming months.

"Connected mobile devices offer a double-win in healthcare," she said, according to Tech Page One. "Firstly, they will be key in the shift to the big rise in cross-disciplinary teams, which are required to deliver coordinated care. Secondly, mobile devices are key tools in helping to ensure patients follow treatment regimes, in monitoring patient symptoms in real-time, in facilitating a higher level of self-care and in contributing to richer data for the development of personalized medicine and treatment."

The source added that security of all patient data continues to be one of the more important priorities for the industry, especially as healthcare providers implement new technology. This illustrates the importance of advanced mobile device security and MDM solutions.

MaaS360 for Healthcare

MaaS360 was on scene at this year's HIMSS13 conference, showcasing how our solution enables secure and safe support of all corporate and employee-owned devices. MaaS360 for Healthcare can be leveraged to uphold regulatory compliance, such as HIPAA, and helps organizations secure electronic protected healthcare information.

Security, however, isn't the only advantage of MaaS360, as it helps reduce the cost of mobile device, application and document management by decreasing IT workloads while upping mobile user productivity.

Classrooms Jump Aboard the BYOD Bandwagon - Part 2

Tue, 05 Mar 2013 14:44:40 +0000

In our introduction to this two part blog series, I described how smartphones and tablets are changing the way instructors and students interact within the classroom, and common concerns among education administrators and IT management in face of this new technology. In this blog, I will help describe how these devices can be managed, enabling a secure and productive use in and out of the classroom. To curb the pain points of BYOD, IT must look for mobile device management (MDM) solutions that allow them to maintain a tighter grip on their mobile ecosystem. IT must urge all mobile device owners to enroll their devices in the enterprise MDM platform.

When selecting an MDM platform, IT must evaluate mobile solutions for the following factors:

Resolving Device Inequity Crises: Dispatching standard mobile devices or settling down on a specific device type is not always a scalable or viable solution. Instead, IT must study their mobile ecosystem, understand their needs and look for devices that are popular with a large group of students, staff and faculty.

Then, they must look at MDM solutions that allow them to support multiple devices, multiple operating systems and can easily accommodate the dynamic nature of their mobile ecosystem. An MDM solution must be scalable in the long run and allow IT departments to rapidly deploy and manage new and old devices.

Lastly, MDM platforms must work harmoniously with legacy platforms and data modules.

Curtailing Distractions: IT can define different geo-fencing policies to ward off social distractions such as gaming applications, networking groups and distracting content. The best MDM solutions allow IT to define multiple policies and enforce them only when the devices are on campus. This will ensure that the devices aid the users in their learning process, while offering them the flexibility to use the device outside of the educational setting.

Defining Internet Content Filtering Rules and Policies: Filtering Internet content is an important objective of an educational IT department. IT can define policies that:

Restrict student user groups from accessing any specified site

Blacklist applications violating the content consumption criteria

Restrict the use of 3G or 4G wireless technologies

Send alerts for BYOD devices consuming illegal content and violating laws

Securing Content Distribution and Management: Many MDM solutions allow IT to give rights to faculty and staff for distributing and sharing content in a safe and secure manner. IT can also define mobile policies to enforce encryption on all BYOD and in-house mobile devices accessing or housing any intellectual property. Unauthorized distribution of this content can be prevented, and access to the content can be revoked when the user no longer requires it.

Private or In-house App Stores: In-house app stores are a smart way of managing your app ecosystem. They make it possible to distribute and manage apps across all devices from a single centralized console; all while preventing malicious applications making the rounds. As required, they can send notifications about app updates or alert device owners on lagging app versions.

Bring your own preparation

Beyond the technology-centric MDM solution, it is highly recommended that IT staff sit with different user groups (including students) to understand their mobile needs, preferred applications, settings and content protection requirements. It is also important to have a well-defined BYOD policy, and to take steps to enforce it effectively.

Are you ready for BYOD? What questions and concerns do you still have? Please share with us your BYOD experiences on campus in the comments section below.

Classrooms Jump Aboard the BYOD Bandwagon

Mon, 04 Mar 2013 18:57:17 +0000

It didn’t take long for smartphones, tablets and apps to replace books, binders, and notepads as the most preferred learning resources of our time. Today’s students consider access to wireless networks, online courses, email exchange and digital textbooks prime necessities to go along with their gadgets. Consequently, student faculties have begun exploring different technologies for pupils that expedite the learning process, increase student engagement and encourage creative thinking. Some educational institutions run classes on Google Applications so that parents can get the same experience their children are getting in the classroom. This Presta infographic expounds the changing times at educational campuses.

Add Your Own Device to Your School Supply List

A prime driver of the change is the bring your own device (BYOD) trend. Many students, staff and faculty who bring their own devices use multiple devices on campus. For example, a student may use his Android smartphone to send a course registration email, access the course management system from his iPad and then use his laptop later in the day to create a presentation or complete their assignments. This increases pressure on the IT staff to ensure the secured state of the campus network, devices and content.

Configuring Wi-Fi, email, and VPN on the growing fleet of BYOD devices in a fast, efficient and uncompromising manner remains a key challenge. While Apple Configurator gives IT administrators the ability to perform basic device management functions, such as rolling out an image on iPads, it fails to support advanced device management requirements on different devices (iPad, Android devices, laptops or Macs).

Another daunting challenge for educational institutions is content distribution and management. How can professors and teachers share research content and intellectual data with their students securely? Can e-books, videos or any course content be distributed in a secured and reliable way on different BYOD devices?

Ensuring security of assets in an open environment with less mature BYOD owners is of the utmost importance. While on campus, how can IT restrict their students from accessing certain online content, smartphone features like camera or productivity-killing apps? How can they protect their networks from jailbroken or rooted devices infested with potential malware and detect open security loop holes?

Managing BYOD In and Out of the Classroom

Various surveys and reports have indicated heavy BYOD adoption in schools and colleges. What these reports often leave out is that the IT staff struggles to effectively manage these devices. They may not be sure which solution empowers them to manage their BYOD and in-house devices in a uniform way without abstracting their heterogeneity. That, or they are confused by the numerous options in the market and the solution deployments are slow.

It is important that educational authorities define mobile policies that restrict the use of certain mobile applications and mobile features on campus. For in-house devices, it is important that the value and security of the iPad and other university-owned devices do not get compromised as they are transferred student to student, year after year.

With all these imposed complications, how can educators harness the power of the BYOD movement? What are the recommended best practices education institutions must support? How can educational institutions with limited IT budgets resolve these technical challenges? Share your thoughts and ideas in the comments section.

Make sure to read part two of this blog series, which covers common solutions for managing mobility in education.