Smartphones, tablets, laptops and even wearables are integral to our daily lives. As these mobile devices continue to infiltrate the workplace, the need for organizations to have a smart strategy for mobility is on the rise. Businesses must find ways to protect and secure their data on both company-provided and BYOD (bring your own device) assets without hindering productivity. But how?
While successfully managing enterprise mobility is no small task, it can be done. Before your organization jumps in head first, discover 10 major must-haves for anyone planning to dive into the EMM (enterprise mobility management) space.
- Central security configuration
Are you confident that your IT team can fully manage any corporate or BYOD asset? In this ever-changing technical world, you must have the ability to centrally configure security elements, including passcode protection, encryption and detection of non-compliant devices. Furthermore, it’s critical the organization can remotely wipe data and block access at any time to prepare for situations in which a device is lost or stolen, or when an employee leaves the company. - Control over mobile and web access
What about being able to secure and manage any mobile or web app? Apps are diverse and generally don’t share common security frameworks. Your IT needs to prepare to centrally secure any mobile app, web app or intranet by applying access policies, secure connectivity and appropriate data controls. - Sandboxing or containerization
What happens when employees demand access to their favorite productivity apps? Do you have secure alternatives you can provide that get the job done without sacrificing user experience? Employees need certain apps to get their jobs done and access their email, the web and specific data. It’s important IT can provide a secure “sandbox” or “container” alternative to the native email, browser and file-sharing tools they know and love. - Privacy protection
While it’s important your organization protect itself, it’s inevitable that your employees will want a modicum of privacy, too. Ask yourself, can I offer secure mobility while protecting user privacy? IT in U.S. and international companies alike will need a plan in place that addresses even the most stringent user privacy rules while handling data security and adherence to any industry-specific compliance simultaneously. - SSO provisioning
What about ease of use? Can your organization simplify access by giving users an SSO (single sign-on), thereby making any app available on any device? SSO provides something for everyone. Users get simple access without have to authenticate on a small screen. If the enterprise is truly going mobile, IT will need to provision not only mobile apps, but web, SaaS, Windows and data center apps as well and make them all available in one place: a unified app store. - Scenario-based network access
Will you be able to customize user experience if and when needed? With the array of mobile devices accessing the network, IT needs to define comprehensive access and control policies using profiles, user roles, and location-based access to determine which apps and data to deliver, and what level of content access to provide. - Corporate data availability
Is it possible to let users access their content while still protecting your company’s most valuable resource — its data? Mobile users need access to corporate content regardless of where it resides. Whether in Microsoft SharePoint, BOX, Dropbox, or a data sharing and sync app, IT should be able to set and enforce data policies that dictate what employees can and can’t do with the content, including edit, save, email, copy/paste and take other usability actions. - Flexible security solutions
Will your organization be able to be flexible in providing the right security for the situation? Similar to the challenge of balancing security and privacy is the need to apply the right security at the right time. IT needs flexible solutions that support a “good-better-best” approach to security, making the right tradeoffs between security and usability. - EMM and IT symbiosis
Can your organization functionally integrate mobile with existing IT resources? IT understands the security hazard of technology silos. Enterprise mobility solutions should easily “snap” into the existing IT environment, creating harmony and not chaos. This includes direct integration with enterprise directories, CRM, ERP, telecom expenses, procurement portals, public key infrastructure, corporate email, access technologies such as WiFi and VPN, and virtual desktops and apps. - The ability to grow and evolve
Finally and most importantly, is your architecture secure, scalable and highly available? True EMM solutions must be enterprise-grade. This means that they are architected to keep sensitive user data behind the firewall, not exposed to the Internet. It means that organizations can grow their deployments without increasing complexity. It also means that industry-standard high availability configurations ensure system failover and straightforward failback should the technology fail.
Now that you’ve thought through this critical information, are you ready to move forward with enterprise mobility in your organization? If you’re not sure or would like to enlist the help of professionals who can make the transition seamless and cost-effective, contact TechOrchard for help. Good luck!
