BYOD Mobile Management Software Ensure Enterprise Security

When you're dealing with mobile phones in a business environment these days, there are a lot of things that can go wrong. For example, what happens if a phone is lost? Then there's the ever-present threat of an outside source accessing the files. There are a number of things that stress out and give your IT guys headaches, and here are just a few.

Misplaced Phones

One of the biggest concerns of companies that have company phones is if those phones get lost. What happens then? They just disappear with all sorts of personal and business information on them. With a Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) mobile management solution in place, those worries will be unfounded. Sure, the employee will lose all of their information assuming that they haven't backed it up, but more importantly, all of your business data is secure. With mobile management software, you'll be able to remotely wipe any device that gets lost, so no matter what happens to the phone, it'll happen without your data on it.

Unencrypted Signals

There are many dangers when putting business information on someone's personal device. Those dangers include someone stealing data over an open signal. With mobile management software, thankfully, this isn't an issue. You can set the device to only allow access to company data when connected to the company's Wi-Fi network. If the connection is compromised elsewhere, you'll feel relieved to know that the data that's being transmitted isn't any of your private company data.

Refusals to Update

It's extremely difficult to make data available across the board when people aren't on the same page with their devices. There are some people that just love to make lives difficult, and this includes refusing to update their phone to the latest version. With a BYOD plan in place, you'll be able to simultaneously update all devices on the network. You'll be able to remotely force all devices to check for an update at specified intervals, if you choose.

This applies to both software and hardware updates, too, so if there's a massive hardware update that rolls out, it would be best to apply it overnight. This may cause some confusion in the morning, though, and you may have to have a quick training session on it, but at least everyone will be on the same page.

No Safeguards for Downloads

With malware on the rise, it's difficult to determine which apps are safe to download and which aren't. If a BYOD program is in place, you'll never have to worry about it! Mobile management allows you to disable app downloads altogether if you choose, so you won't have to worry about a data leak through programs. You can also block specific apps, so if you need a certain app on everyone's phone, you'll still be able to do that. This also helps out with employee productivity since you'll be able to block time wasting gaming and social media apps.

Data Disappearing

With any technology, data disappearing is a legitimate fear. Sure, you can back it up, but let's be honest—not every employee is going to do that. Rather than have the data on each individual phone, why not utilize the cloud? Cloud services provide a way to remotely store data, allowing specific people to access and modify the data.

This is extremely helpful if you have employees that are telecommuting. The same restrictions can apply here — only certain devices could access the data while on the company's Wi-Fi network, or, if they're telecommuting, you can set those devices to get access from anywhere. Once the data is in the cloud, you can allow editing of the data, but restrict downloads to devices, preventing the data from getting on the device altogether.

Browser-Based Bugs

Another serious concern comes with web browsers. Many web browsers are susceptible to malware and security leaks. This could be due to outdated browsers, or even the browser used. With mobility management software, you'll be able to force users to have the latest versions of browsers, or even restrict browser use to a certain browser. Doing this should heavily reduce the amount of issues that employees will face when browsing the web. If you force employees to use the company Wi-Fi, you can block access to certain websites, too.

There are many things that can stress out an IT department, but mobile management solutions like an integrated Bring Your Own Device plan by BlackBerry can reduce those stresses exponentially. Does your company have an integrated policy that allows the employees to use their own smartphones at work? If so, has it reduced the stress and headaches that your IT staff gets? Leave a comment below.

Posted by George Daniels on Thursday November 28 2013, 2:24 AM EST. All trademarks acknowledged. Filed under Technology. Comments and Trackbacks closed. Follow responses: RSS 2.0