However, the widespread availability of these mobile devices and the vast array of choice when it comes to computing equipment have given rise to a trend that has become known as Bring Your Own Device (BYOD). This is creating corporate pandemonium where employees, including executives, are increasingly using their own personal mobile devices to access information on the corporate network and expect these devices to function seamlessly.
Says Paul McKibbin, divisional MD of Jasco Carrier Networks: "This BYOD trend has caused some major headaches for IT, particularly since it is often the high level executives who require their own devices to be able to access the company networks, making it practically impossible to just say no. However, barring personal devices from corporate networks is not really an option; it would also be a short-sighted manoeuvre from a business perspective."
"There are also many benefits to this model, including cost savings for the corporate since the users have become increasingly responsible for the purchasing of their devices. This is also driving faster adoption of advanced technology in the business environment, including new methods of communication which aid productivity and speed up the decision-making process. Employees who are able to bring their own devices and use them are typically happier in their working environment, and are more productive since they are taking advantage of the latest technology available."
However, one of the biggest concerns for business around BYOD is the security of the network. With all of these various devices, running different operating systems and software, all connected to the corporate network, control can prove difficult and can leave the wireless network open to outside attack. Legal problems also come to the fore, since if employees are conducting illicit activities on the corporate network, even on their own devices, the company remains liable. These activities can compromise the company network, and it becomes difficult for organisations to distinguish between work related and private access to protect the privacy of users on the network.
Adds McKibbin: "Integration also becomes a challenge in the non-homogenous BYOD environment, as specialist skills are needed to manage the various operating systems and platforms, and bandwidth management becomes vital to ensure that users do not abuse the privilege of being able to access social sites such as Facebook and YouTube from their personal devices on the corporate network."
"The reality is, despite the challenges of BYOD, if it can be utilised appropriately and managed correctly it has the potential to provide competitive advantage in a highly aggressive business market. What is needed is a smarter solution that can handle the challenges of a non-homogenous IT environment to deliver security and management that lives up to the needs of the modern user and the modern business."
The good news is that BYOD need not be the corporate headache it has been made out to be, if rugged policies are in place to drive security and the network has the capability to enforce these policies. With intelligent network solutions that incorporate extreme management capabilities, such as Aruba, a specialist in distributed enterprise networks, BYOD becomes simply part of corporate policy and security and legal issues are taken care of.
Aruba has a wide range of solutions that simplify operations and secure access to all corporate applications and services, regardless of the user's device, location or network. This not only dramatically improves productivity and lowers capital and operational costs, it also supports the concept of BYOD easily and intuitively.
"Aruba has appeared consistently as a Leader in the Gartner Wireless LAN Magic Quadrant, and offers leading edge solutions for WiFi that enable configuration and monitoring of secure networks remotely," says McKibbin. "Remote access points and cloud solutions enabled by Aruba provide unfailing policies for users no matter what device they access the network with, along with a consistent experience regardless of device through a secure cloud-based network login."
Built-in Aruba intelligence allows the solution to dynamically recognise the type of device that is being logged in along with the operating system of this device and apply the relevant corporate policies for this device type. Mobile Device Access Control (MDAC) delivers auto-provisioning of mobile devices, enhancing the user experience, since the user simply logs on with their unique ID and the Aruba network automatically recognises the device and provisions wireless settings and profiles. This offers both per user protocols and per device control on a granular level to ensure that security policies can be accurately enforced across a non-homogenous environment.
This fully scalable and flexible solution can cater for a few employees or hundreds of thousands of employees easily, and new users can even be configured remotely to save on maintenance costs. Other intelligent features include advanced security that detects and attacks rogue devices, causing them to shut down, profile management to enable individual users or groups of users access to different sites according to policy, and bandwidth management within these profiles to ensure access is controlled.
