In today’s world, the mobile device is a ubiquitous tool. Recent research suggests that over 230 million people in the U.S. (over age 13) use a mobile device and it is estimated that approximately 65 million Americans own a smartphone. The smartphone is not only revolutionizing people’s personal lives, it as also infiltrating the work place. Employees are increasingly using smartphones, such as iPhones, and tablets, such as iPads, for work related purposes. In a Consumer Intelligence Research Partners survey of over 1,000 consumers, one in five said they will use the new iPad for business purposes. Of course, the blending of personal and work related devices has numerous advantages for companies and employees, allowing employees to more easily connect to work when out of the office. However, companies need to have mobile device management policies in place, including iPhone management and iphone security.
Mobile device management, which can be described as programs and policies designed to reduce both security risks and support costs by controlling configuration of as well as data on employee devices, is essential. A staggering one quarter of companies allow BYOD but do not have any kind of management system in place and a third of employees who use a personal mobile device for work say that their company’s data is not encrypted or secure. This could have catastrophic implications. For example, imagine a company phone was lost or stolen from an employee that contained confidential company information. Anyone could easily gain access. Therefore, there needs to a policy in place to protect this information or data.
Ideally, effective mobile management should also include patch management software. In regards to mobile device management, patch management specifically refers to the need for large company IT managers to keep the latest updates on computers to avoid any problems with viruses. Often times with numerous computers to manage, very often hundreds, IT managers need assistance identifying, tracking and fixing computers that are not up to date. And this software doesn’t have to be costly. For example, apple has a free tool called Configurator that allows users to configure up to 30 iOS devices at once. The bottom line is that role of smartphones in the world is only going to continue to grow from here. Therefore, it is crucial that companies develop mobile device management programs and policies now to be prepared not only in the present, but also for the future. Read more.
