Technology self-enablers used to be the bane of the IT department, bringing non-standard equipment into the workplace, connecting it to the corporate network and potentially causing chaos in the process.
But times are changing, and where once such behaviour was actively discouraged, today it’s just as likely to be officially sanctioned in the form of a bring your own computer (BYOC) scheme. However one thing that has changed is that BYO schemes are now just as likely to encompass smartphones or tablets as they are full laptop computers.
People buying iPhones, Android handsets and tablet computers for their own use also want to be able to use them at work, and this trend towards IT consumerisation isn’t showing any signs of slowing down.
iThings
Apple claims that its iPad tablet computer is being used or piloted in 80% of Fortune 100 companies, and that its iPhone device is being used or tested in 88% of them. Investment bank Barclays Capital is predicting that the company will sell up to 33 million iPads, and that the device is becoming particularly attractive to enterprise users.
Meanwhile, IDC is predicting that Apple will come under pressure from Android and other OS-based mobile devices in 2011. Driving this trend is pressure from executives to get access to the same easy to use operating systems and app-driven functionality at work that they’re used to having in their personal life.
But how should the IT department handle this development, and are there ways that it can be turned to the organisation’s advantage?
“Gartner released a study last year which said that between ten and 12% of people are connecting their own devices to the corporate network, whether it be smart phones, netbooks or whatever. They are bringing their own IT into the corporate environment,” said Patrick Irwin, senior product marketing manager for Citrix Systems.
“Personally, I have a feeling that the real figures are a lot higher than that. Looking at the practices of the people I see around me, I think the average IT department is definitely underestimating what’s going on. I think the actual figures are likely to be much higher – at least double those in the Gartner study.”
Bring your own
Citrix is well known for being one of the first companies to offer a BYOC scheme, as both a means of reducing its overheads and also as a way of promoting its own virtualisation software. “Bring your own is just one aspect of the consumerisation trend – BYO may be a corporate initiative, but very often it’s something which is happening anyway. If it’s happening in your company, the clever thing to do is to ask how it can be taken advantage of,” said Irwin.
“Some companies will try to ban it, but in this case I think resistance is futile – it’s happening anyway. People are increasingly living part of their lives online and they’re happier using their own machines. If they can bring those devices into work with them, and as a result have access to their social lives and things like that online, then I think that’s a great thing. It has positive implications for people’s levels of happiness and for their productivity levels as well.”
“From the organisation’s point of view, it also means that they’re contactable out of hours, can turn around work queries much fast than they otherwise could, and that they have a personal stake in looking after the equipment they are using – after all, they own it.”
Atomic
In an interesting twist, the trend for IT consumerisation appears to run in both directions. While consumer technology is increasingly being seen around the office, technology developed specifically for the consumer market is finding its way into enterprise computing as well. One example is Microsoft recently asking Intel to develop a 16-core version of its low power Atom chip for use in servers.
The Atom chip was specifically developed for use in lightweight mobile consumer devices such as netbooks, with an eye on low power consumption. Integrated into a data centre, this technology could help bring down expensive power bills.
One thing is certain, the average smartphone owner is already carrying around in their pockets more than enough technology to allow their device to double as a work aid, whether they’re aware of it or not.
“There are a lot more of these devices out there, offering more choice to consumers and to a broader spread of consumers as well – not just the young and highly technically literate,” said Irwin.
Irwin points out that as technology becomes more and more a part of everyday life, even people not traditionally thought to be enthusiasts are finding themselves becoming more comfortable with it.
“As a society, we’re becoming more IT literate without really being conscious of the process. It’s everywhere, from our Sky Plus boxes on up. Around the office it’s not just the younger people that are driving this, granted, they are probably more connected to social networks and the like, but technology is playing a much broader role in people’s lives than before,” he said.
Consumer trend
Citrix recently polled 350 executives around the world and found that 67% of respondents use personal consumer devices at work. Of those, 87% are ‘DIY-ers’ – in other words they take care of their own IT needs rather than relying on an IT department to manage their devices or install new apps.
In addition, 87% of respondents reported that they regularly work outside of the office, with 52% working one to two days a week in that way, and another 27% working anywhere from three days to more per week outside an office environment.
“These results are very interesting, because they come from a user study as opposed to an IT study,” said Irwin. “This is a much truer reflection of what’s going on, in my opinion. It’s also interesting to see that tablets are starting to go mainstream with corporate users, with 23% of people travelling with them as well as a laptop.”
This finding tallies with research from other industry observers. International consultancy Deloitte recently published its Technology, Media and Telecommunications Predictions report, in which it forecast that more than a quarter of all tablets sold in 2011 will be bought by businesses, as a direct result of the consumerisation of corporate technology.
In addition, it says that by the end of the year it expects a significant number of firms to be willing to pay for employees tablets and data plans, and that enterprise software providers will increasingly provide tablet-specific software.
Facilitation
“Globally we’re seeing a growth in enterprises managing and facilitating personally-owned devices. However, there is a cost associated with that,” said Aidan Gregan, senior executive and head of technology consulting with Accenture in Ireland.
“Most of those devices are either smartphones, or the likes of iPads. IT organisations need to make sure that their policies and procedures are adhered to before they provide access to any personal devices – so for example in the case of a laptop, it must be encrypted and have a minimum spec of security requirements before it’s allowed access documents on the corporate site. You should need the right security access protocols to connect it.”
According to Gregan, supporting all the different types of device that could look to connect, right down to device drivers and the like, can cause a headache for the IT department. “It does become easier with thin client applications on things like the iPad, iPhones and tablets, where you have access through apps or through browser or mail. That allows more control over what will run from where,” he said.
“We are also seeing a lot of interest in the idea of the virtual desktop accessible from any web-enabled device, and that dovetails nicely into this consumerisation movement. Any application, accessible from any device anywhere at any time – that’s a lot safer.”
Security concerns
A big issue for companies considering allowing consumer devices to play a role in their IT strategy is how to get around the thorny issue of security and the headache of supporting many different devices.
However according to Jason Ward, country manager for EMC Ireland, a good solution to this problem is to virtualise your IT environment and use private cloud technology to make it easy for staff to access the applications and data they need, while at the same time keeping sensitive data off their individual handsets or devices.
“If you deploy your applications virtually to a device, it doesn’t really matter what the access device is. You can really simplify the logistically headache of supporting many different platforms and trying to implement security policies that account for all the different hardware and software configurations that you could see,” he said.
EMC is currently launching a new consumerisation scheme which will see it offer its employees an allowance that they can use to subsidise the cost of their preferred work equipment.
“Whatever kit they buy, we can provision their image out to that device as and when they need it. This is something we’re offering in-house, but we’re also seeing real interest in the market for this kind of technology. A lot of CIOs find themselves in a budgetary dilemma that schemes like this can address,” he said.
“Traditionally, they spend around 70% of their budget just keeping the lights on, with the rest of the budget available for new projects and innovation. When you invest in this kind of virtualisation technology, once you have it up and running it only accounts for around 30% of your annual budget, so the other 70% is freed up to be used to create more value, developing new applications, or just lowering costs.”
Surmountable
According to Colm Grealy, chief executive offer with Digital Rights Group, there will always be security implications to using mobile technology, but none that can’t be overcome. “We are increasingly using our phones and other mobile devices throughout the day and there is a blurring between our personal use of mobile technology and business use,” he said.
“For example, we all have access to e-mail on the move now, and something like an exchange server is easily integrated into a phone. For a lot of people that will sit happily alongside a Gmail account for private mail, and with the increasing use of cloud based services that’s okay, because you’re not really storing large amounts of data on the device itself.”
Things get trickier, according to Grealy, when mail arrives to a mobile device with sensitive information contained in an attached document.
“Many work mails have documents attached, and when they’re viewed locally they can end up stored on the handset itself rather than in the cloud. That’s a security concern, but it isn’t unique to mobile devices – for a long time in the workplace we’ve had the same issues with laptops. But we’ve come to terms with the implications of someone leaving a laptop in a bar, and it’s now accepted that they need to be encrypted and security measures taken,” he said.
In addition, there are new and improved security measures appearing all the time. As a case in point, Grealy relates how he recently lost his smartphone while on a business trip to a foreign city.
“I was able to replace the handset within 24 hours even though I was away from home, and get it back up and running with all my data intact. It was an iPhone, so I was also able to send the guy who had it a message asking for it back, and to remotely erase the phone and have the device rendered inoperable,” he said.
Strategy plan
“That’s a degree of functionality that comes as standard with a consumer device that would have been considered high-end on an enterprise laptop until recently. Overall, these devices are increasingly part of the working day for people and therefore they’re being used as substitutes for the laptops and desktops we’ve always supported, so why not support them? They are part of the IT strategy of the company even if they’re not a planned part of it.”
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