There’s a lot of talk in Washington DC regarding a possible ‘fiscal cliff,’ but what about the IT cliff?
There’s been little to no talk on the potential cliff in our industry, an increasing number of mobile devices being brought into the workplace following consumer gifts and spending on mobile devices during the holiday season.
With record numbers of iPads expected to sell this holiday season, Acronis, provider of data availability, accessibility, and protection solutions, has encouraged managed services providers (MSPs) to view the bring your own device (BYOD) trend positively, balancing the ease-of-use and enterprise-grade security, while still retaining control and security of their network and data. Here are the details.
Recently, Acronis urged MSPs to plan for the potential IT cliff, caused by an increase of mobile devices in the workplace and onto corporate networks.
The company reported that IT-approved devices make up only a fraction of those in the workforce; 81 percent of employees use their own devices at work. With the increase of devices in the workplace, IT must be able to adapt to demands of the end user and ensure data is secure and available, regardless of where and how data is stored and accessed.
Acronis Senior Vice President of Strategy and Chief Marketing Officer Scott Crenshaw presented an explanation for the increase in mobile devices in the workplace.
“Employees are taking IT into their own hands because it’s affordable, and easier than jumping through internal approvals but the anticipated flood of personal devices in January doesn’t need to spell doom for IT. In fact, organizations of all sizes have a unique opportunity to control costs and create a more connected, data-driven workplace.”
Scott Crenshaw
Acronis offered several suggestions to IT managers:
- Adopt mobile device management (MDM) secure access solutions,
- Conduct regular security audits,
- Track device use with a central management tool to ensure compliance,
- Provide simple solutions for file access, sharing and security,
- Plan for the worst with a comprehensive business continuity plan.
Will you stay BYOD in the new year or will you move toward other solutions?
