Supporting mobility across most organizations has long ceased to be a matter of ‘if’ and much more one of ‘how’ – because enterprises have come to recognize and acknowledge the huge contribution it can deliver to the business. Mobile is transforming how we work, and products and services are rapidly evolving. What remains to be negotiated, however, is management of the challenges that mobility brings with it.
For example, how many organizations have an official BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) policy, with proper controls in place? How many, by contrast, are allowing unsanctioned BYOD to take place, with employees accessing email or work documents from their personal devices? And how many more are simply locking down corporate devices and ignoring that any BYOD is happening at all? In other words, the response to BYOD is, at best, patchy.
It’s not only BYOD, but also BYOA (Bring Your Own Application). There are employees who are accessing company information on their devices, without any oversight; those with managed devices are bringing in their own apps. Meanwhile, the threat landscape for mobile continues to grow each year and thenumber of mobile threats that track the user has doubled.
This points to the need for companies to develop a strategy and set policies for securing corporate data on mobile devices, while balancing employee productivity. And, for those enterprises yet to formalize this, it has to happen now.
It is the phenomenal growth in smart phone and tablet numbers that is impacting how we now do business and the way IT must adjust their strategies to accommodate and remain in control of this irresistible wave of change.
Is there a gap in threat protection for mobile devices? As people are adopting more tablets and smartphones, we at Symantec wanted to measure them on their security IQ – basic precautions, such as deleting suspicious emails from people they don’t know – based on the device they are using. While at least 70% of PC users are deleting suspicious emails, using antivirus solutions and avoiding storing sensitive files online, those numbers drop dramatically when we move to mobile users.
Even though many mobile devices can now do almost anything a PC can do, consumers aren’t treating them the same way when it comes to their security behaviors, creating the perfect storm for cybercriminals.
So, what should enterprises do to protect the business, while not discouraging the positive aspects and benefits that mobile delivers?
Step 1: Understand the use cases
Often there is a hybrid of corporate owned and personally owned devices. If it is happening at the c-level, it is happening everywhere. If user experience is poor, employees will work around it. Find out what apps are they using, the uses cases, and which devices and operating systems they are using and for what. This will help you to gather requirements and understand the need of your employees.
Step 2: Develop a comprehensive mobile strategy
- Assemble the right team
- Be deliberate about device access
- Build new policies for BYOD
- Allow mobile work/life balance
- Consider legal ramifications
- Research the latest EMM technology
Learn more on this step: Give Employees a Comprehensive Mobility Policy to Ensure Success
Step 3: Gather the essentials
Here are the 5 "Must-Haves" for Enterprise Mobility Management that you should look for in a solution:
1. Device management
- Enable devices to access key corporate assets, such as email and documents
- Apply advanced security settings to ensure corporate compliance
2. App management
- Secure data in corporate apps, regardless of the device
- Wrap a layer of security and policy management around any app
- Distribute apps by user role from a customizable enterprise app store
3. Threat Protection
- Guard mobile devices against malware and prevent vulnerabilities
- Apply security policies for jailbroken/rooted devices or by OS
- App screening and reputation analysis with Norton Mobile Insight technology
4. Content Management
- Easily distribute and secure content to end-user mobile devices
- Access files stored on the network or cloud with Symantec Sealed apps
5. Identity & Access Control
- Provide strong authentication and authorization for access to enterprise applications and resources, using digital certificates or security credentials
- Leverage authentication methods, such as LDAP and SAML, for single sign-on
Ultimately, EMM provides the foundation to unlock the potential of mobility, so that the enterprise can transform its business processes, gain competitive advantage and empower employee productivity, against a backdrop of constant change.
Make sure to visit: http://www.symantec.com/mobility/ for more information.