Mobility altering employee, IT relationship

For years, IT departments at most companies have held the power of testing and ultimately deploying new technology, but, as a group of experts recently noted, that trend is breaking down thanks to consumerization.

Nowhere is this more prevalent than when it comes to enterprise mobility. According to experts who participated in a panel discussion at the recent MobileBeat conference in San Francisco, end-users are now the ones testing out new technologies and introducing them to the IT department.

It used to be the other way around, but that is no longer the case as end-users now enjoy greater access to smartphones and mobile applications ripe for business use. For the most part, IT has been accommodating and willing to work with employees, said one expert.

"It's shifting from a very parental model to much more of an adult relationship," the CEO of a mobile device management solutions provider said.

Given such changes, it's never been more important for companies to draft a mobile device management policy. While it's good to provide employees with technology they want, there remains a need for certain restrictions to ensure that corporate data remains protected on smartphones and mobility costs don't spiral out of control.