MOBILITY DEPLOYMENT STRATEGY – FIVE CRITICAL QUESTIONS.

The ever changing mobility deployment landscape poses unique risks to business. A mobility strategy is now a vital consideration for enterprise companies; decision makers must consider the triumvirate of options regarding device access and supply.

Options for Consideration:

• BYOD (Bring your own device)
• COPE (Corporately Owned, Personally Enabled)
• CYOD (Choose your own device)

Audit firm Deloitte report that more than 40% of UK employees use smartphones and tablets in their day-to-day workflow – and that number is expected to increase annually. Whether sending emails, editing presentations or communicating outside the organisation, mobility decisions are key. Symec ensure best practise in providing a tailored solution. Hybrid strategies are becoming an option, with staging and MDM provided with a CYOD proposal. Successful deployment requires simplicity and security.

Five key questions:

What Mobile Device Management will be deployed?
If providing a device through a corporate procurement strategy, how are you going to lock down the device completely, allowing access to work-related apps and work flows whilst restricting the use of non-work-related items?

How will you provide an element of control to BYOD or CYOD?

Inherently, BYOD provides the least up-front cost for a business. However, it is the hardest to provide wrap-around security for. The data risks are larger in BYOD, mitigated in CYOD and at their most secure – assuming regulated device standards – with COPE. Another key consideration is the deletion of corporate data, ideally remotely, when an employee leaves.

Are your employees, under CYOD and COPE, allowed to use the device in a personal capacity?

The advent of applications that allow a split between work data and personal have helped provide security to corporate data, and vice versa; employees are rightfully conscious that their data must also be protected from company access. Though GDPR regulations have increased pressure around data sensitivity, this has been an organisational consideration throughout mobility deployment.

What are the advantages of CYOD?

Employee productivity, when allowed to choose their own device that is already protected, has sizeable benefits. People work best using their preferred OS and device and feel valued and empowered in doing so. Whether agreed or not, employees are bringing their own devices to work, and mitigating the risks are an IT headache.

How will you roll-out necessary updates?

It is a lot easier to manage devices that are controlled through a central hub or command centre, with the requisite software installed. Self-service app stores come with increased security, provided apps are updated through the relevant distribution channels. Prompts to update when necessary can be effective with a lock-down in access from apps that aren’t running the relevant version upon request for connection.