The trend of employees being able to use their own mobile devices to access company information will continue to increase over time.
So says Greg Comline, senior manager at Deloitte Digital, commenting on the results of the ITWeb/Deloitte Digital Bring Your Own App Survey, which ran online for 14 days in February.
"We are seeing the evolution to provisioned applications and secure access to information and this will be followed (in the medium term) by individuals being able to develop their own apps. This follows a very similar trend for Excel development in companies and this is a chance to provide a solid foundation for app development in the future," says Comline.
According to the survey, an overwhelming majority of respondents (94.5%) said they are able to use their own mobile devices to access company e-mail, 56.88% to access documents, 27.52% to access file systems, 14.68% to access ERP systems, and 10.09% to access financial management.
However, 53.13% said their companies do not have mobile device management (MDM) solutions in place. Furthermore, 30.28% of respondents said their organisations had issued them with mobile devices for work, while 67.89% had not.
Commenting on what steps organisations can take to put effective solutions in place, Comline advises: "It is important to have the platforms in place to enable mobile device access to sections of the corporate network and to provide platforms for employees to develop their own apps."
Jon Hoehler, manager for mobile technologies at Deloitte Digital, also advises on steps organisations can take to put effective mobile solutions in place: "Feasibility of applying BYOD/A policies to your organisation should be in line with the mobile device management solution that fits the organisation's requirements. It is critical to establish an understanding of what devices are being used by employees in order to determine and evaluate vulnerabilities of those devices. Other steps include determining the accessibility of information employees need, monitoring the vulnerability of devices, and measuring and reporting on device information usage."
"If companies are able to provide access to secure information with the ability to develop apps, it creates a highly innovative environment where employees are empowered to develop new efficiencies within their work lives. In a knowledge economy, it is vital to provide the most relevant information efficiently to employees and clients. By enabling these people to build and share their innovations and efficiencies, it effectively enables the business to move faster than the development cycles that are currently in place within corporate IT departments," Comline states.
Hoehler adds: "The trend now is to have workspaces on one device; an example is BlackBerry 10 Balance, where you have a work and personal profile on one device. The benefit is control over the device and what that device can do. For example, many devices that are issued by organisations are limited in their features at software level. It benefits the employer, but not necessarily the user."
BYOA concern
The majority of respondents (73.39%) said their organisations enforce security logons for their mobile devices in order to access systems, while 20.18% said this was not the case and 6.42% were unsure.
"We have seen companies enforcing the first stages of security access for mobile devices and this will progress towards the provisioning of apps to employee mobile devices. It is critical to manage app deployment, as employees require access through multiple devices (phone, tablet and PC) to sensitive and private company information. The rights management systems should be closely managed to ensure employees have the correct access to information, and that leaving or previous employees have their rights removed," says Comline.
Commenting on the downfalls of mobile devices having limited access to systems, Comline says: "Companies that do not provide an innovative infrastructure will not be able to work as efficiently as other businesses that do provide efficient access to information. The competitive edge that innovative companies develop will be difficult to imitate or copy because it will not be a specific system or skill set, but rather the core competency of employees to develop solutions."
"If policies are not executed correctly, employees who require such information may not get access to it. Fast decision-making in a competitive landscape is vital for many organisations. Limiting such access can prevent this from happening," Hoehler concludes.
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