Which is better – COPE or BYOD?

By Benjamin Robbins – Bring your own device (BYOD) has enamored many organizations. It has introduced several positive forces into the enterprise with the supposed promise of cost savings, employee satisfaction, and productivity. However, reality has proven to be otherwise. As many organizations struggle with implementing a BYOD program, others wonder if there is an alternative…[read more]

Consumerization, BYOD, and Employee Led Innovation – Live Webcast Recap

On Wednesday September 19th I hosted a really great live webcast in Chicago on Consumerization of IT, BYOD, and Employee Led Innovation. My two panelists, Steve Duncan from Trend Micro and Ron Hyde from Dell, and I had a fun round-table discussion on the issues facing organizations of all sizes. If you didn’t get a chance to watch the live webcast, don’t fret, you can watch the recorded version here.

You can also still participate in a Tweet Chat happening tomorrow Wednesday September 26th at 26, 2012 at 12PM CDT (1PM ET, 10AM PT) with host Ramon Ray (@RamonRay). The topic will be “Debunking 4 myths in consumerization of IT. More details can be found here.

I fielded several questions from the twitter and blogasphere before the live webcast. To close the loop on Q & A here are the questions and the responses. Thanks to all who participated!

1. How should companies think beyond the app (or the device) when developing Employee Led Innovation (ELI?) What is the role of the employee in ELI beyond the insatiable appetite for cool devices?

Steve Duncan: Companies have to take a holistic approach to ELI and not just create policies and technology frameworks for devices.  It starts with creating a structured and continuous method for collecting ideas/initiatives and reacting to them.  Every initiative needs to be answered by management such that employees remain motivated to participate.  Some times that means identifying the right people to evaluate the merits of every idea or initiative.  Once employees know that Management and IT are really listening and reacting, the initiatives will flow.

2. How do you establish and maintain a collaborative attitude between IT and the rest of the company? 

Steve Duncan: It’s the job of IT to create the environment that allows employees to innovate.  That starts with developing and publishing boundaries for how technology can be used inside and outside of the company.  It has to be backed up by providing a technology environment that lets employees to choose their applications and devices without risking loss of company data or breeching security.  By providing security and provisioning support for employee initiatives, an environment of collaboration would be established.

Ron Hyde responds to both questions:

One way to ensure success would be to establish an ELI committee, made up of both end-users and IT staff. Ideally, this committee would be the ‘voice of the company’. This purpose of this group would be to jointly collaborate on key corporate initiatives around mobility. The committee will consist of IT savvy end-users who are familiar with the mobile devices and software applications of the ELI. The IT department would provide folks that are focused on delivering and managing these mobile devices and apps. Together the end-users would outline objectives and the IT department could prepare for them. By working together, both sides can craft timelines, develop a budget, and muster resources. This would help set expectations on both sides. Ultimately the committee would introduce solutions that provide value to the corporate end-user and be effectively managed by IT.

Live Webcast 9/19 – Mobile: Employee Led Innovation

On September 19th at noon CT (1PM ET, 10AM PT) I’ll be hosting a live webcast in Chicago entitled Understanding the value of employee-led innovation & BYOD (see event description below). This Trend Micro Sponsored event will feature a great panel with Steve Duncan,  Ron Hyde , and myself.

You can join in!
1. I am seeking your questions and input ahead of time in order to incorporate them into the event. If you have questions that you want to see addressed during the event post a comment below or send me a tweet at @paladorbenjamin. I’ll add the questions and comments to this blog post as I get them.
2. Watch the live event here!
3. During the event tweet your questions and comments with the hash tag #DellWebcast – I look forward to your input!

You can win a sweet prize!
For participating in the event you could win a Dell™ Latitude™ E6230 laptop with Trend Micro Titanium Internet Security (24 months). The Approximate Retail Value of this prize is $1,679.00. Details on rules and how to win are here.

What’s this event all about?
As the technology landscape evolves, companies are changing the way they operate and providing new opportunities for employees. Consumer preference is increasingly driving the adoption of technology and policies within the workplace.

The implementation of BYOD provides greater flexibility and personal choice for individual workers. It has also been proven to increase productivity and revenues. In addition, employee-led innovation (ELI) offers an alternative to the traditional top-down approach to innovation by involving staff – including the end user – in all areas of developing IT solutions.

Join our live, one-hour webcast, “Understanding the value of employee-led innovation & BYOD”, and learn from industry experts as they discuss:
• Why companies are embracing these trends
• Considerations for your company before implementing employee-led innovation
• Measuring the value of ELI and BYOD
• How ELI can help to resolve organizational issues

QUESTIONS From The TWITTERSPHERE

1. How does IT integrate with employee led innovation while still serving the business needs and being proactive not reactive?

-Submitted by @bmkatz

BYOD Tweet Chat Wrap up – Policy, Scale, and Why BYOD

On June 20^th, 2012 I hosted a very lively tweet chat on BYOD sponsored by Dell and Microsoft. Many thanks to all the partipcants! Click for a recap of question 1 or here for a recap of question 2 or here for a recap of Question 3. The Tweet Chat ended with discusion of BYOD policy, scalability, and Why BYOD.
 

Link in Tweet:BYOD Required for Retention? Bollocks!

Link in Tweet:Mobility and Employee-Owned Devices

 

Sponsored by:

BYOD Tweet Chat Recap – Q3 – What are the security risks of BYOD?

On June 20^th, 2012 I hosted a very lively tweet chat on BYOD sponsored by Dell and Microsoft. Many thanks to all the partipcants! If you weren’t able to participate don’t fret! Over the next week or so I’ll recap all the action play-by-play so you can feel like you were right there! Click for a recap of question 1 or here for a recap of question 2. Question 3 was a real hot button – BYOD and Secuirty!
 

Link in Tweet:Dell Mobile Security and Control

Link in Tweet:Firesheep

Link in Tweet:Dell Mobile Security and Control

Link in Tweet:BYOD – Bringing your own demise to the workplace

 

Sponsored by:

BYOD Tweet Chat Recap – Q2 – What are the financial advantages/challenges of BYOD

On June 20^th, 2012 I hosted a very lively tweet chat on BYOD sponsored by Dell and Microsoft. Many thanks to all the partipcants! If you weren’t able to participate don’t fret! Over the next week or so I’ll recap all the action play-by-play so you can feel like you were right there! Click for a recap of question 1. The second question sparked much debate – BYOD – Cost Saver or Burden? What do you think? Post a comment and let us know!
 

Link in Tweet:You saved how much?

Link in Tweet:The Ugly Truth About BYOD

Link in Tweet:IBM Faces the Perils of “Bring Your Own Device”

Link in Tweet:BYOD – A Cost Saver or a Curse

 

Sponsored by:

BYOD Tweet Chat Recap – Q1 – Is BYOD Effective or Necessary?

On June 20^th, 2012 I hosted a very lively tweet chat on BYOD sponsored by Dell and Microsoft. Many thanks to all the partipcants! If you weren’t able to participate don’t fret! Over the next week or so I’ll recap all the action play-by-play so you can feel like you were right there! Today we’ll tackle the first question.

Link in Tweet:Bring Your Own Device – The New Mobile Productivity Standard for Your Business

 

Sponsored by:

Tweet Chat: 5 Steps to Managing BYOD in Business

Next week I’ll be hosting the ‘5 steps to managing BYOD in business’ Tweet Chat on twitter sponsored by Dell and Microsoft.  We’ll be discussing the most important factors for successfully managing a workplace where BYOD is becoming a permanent occurrence. This will include:

• Managing employee expectations
• Managing security risks and data loss
• Managing and organizing network infrastructure to support consumer devices
• Managing staff and providing a support structure
• Managing and creating corporate platforms that highlight the best features of a consumer platform

Don’t miss what will be a fun and informative chat! Come prepared to join in the conversation and with your questions on BYOD and Consumerization of IT.

 

When?

June 20^th, 2012 at 1PM Eastern (Noon Central,  10AM Pacific)

 

Where?

Twitter Hashtag: #DellBYOD

If you haven’t done a tweet chat before, check out TweetChat( http://tweetchat.com/). It is a great tool to keep you tuned-in to the conversation. Use the #DellBYOD hashtag to join in.

What can I Win? (say wha!?)

During this chat you can register to win a DELL™ LATITUDE™ E6230! http://del.ly/tweetchat620

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY.  Ends 06/20/2012.  To enter and for Official Rules, visit http://del.ly/tweetchat620 #DellBYOD”

 

Sponsored by:

The Desire for Enterprise Mobility

Yesterday there was a prolific (almost heated) exchange on Twitter regarding the correct use of enterprise mobility acronyms. Enterprise mobility has introduced an entire slew of acronyms into IT speak; BYOD, CoIT, MDM, MAM, MIM, EMM, etc. (*see below for the key).  However, the specifics of the Twitter exchange, and who is right and wrong, is not what I want to focus on. Instead, I want to take an historical approach as to why these new terms are emerging and how we should respond.

The dominant compute paradigm is changing. The birth of enterprise computing began with mainframes. A mainframe was a mysterious beast that was housed in an unknown place and did unknown things.  It was the ultimate black box. It was almost magical. The mainframe and our relationship to it was wonderfully personified as HAL 9000 in the film 2001 A Space Odyssey. A mainframe was cold, distant, and powerful. It acted in ways we didn’t fully understand.

As the dominant compute paradigm changed from the mainframe to the PC, so too did our relationship with computing. The PC was something we physically could see and touch on a daily basis. Computing went from something we shared to something that we individually owned. When it didn’t do what we wanted it to do we could swear at it and bang on the side of it. However, the PC was something we left at the office each day as we drove home “packed like lemmings into shiny metal boxes” (virtual high five to anyone who can name that reference without using Google). We had a relationship with our PC, but it was bounded by office hours.

But now, with mobile devices, we never part with our computing device. We live in an anytime, anywhere always connected world. My relationship to this device is more intimate than ever. Not only is it physically with me at all times, but the device itself carries social status and social value. What phone you have says as much about you as the clothes you wear or the car you drive. The social circles you are a part of are determined by what apps you use. Your ability to keep connected to friends is dependent upon your mobile device. Many of us are in constant fear of losing our mobile device because of the pictures we’d lose of our kids or places we’ve been. The list goes on and on of how personal the mobile device has become. This will only increase as time goes on. We have stumbled into a culture that is intertwined with our new devices and in turn these devices are stumbling into the enterprise.

This desire for mobility is turning enterprise computing on its head. Not just from the fact that the devices are different but precisely because of our intimate nature with it. The desire to have these mobile capabilities and connectivity in our places of work represents the prime mover in our need for new acronyms. It is the spark that has caused the flame. The terms and idea behind BYOD and CoIT are desire driven. I want my device with me. I want to use it to do work. I like the device I have – hence BYOD. Beyond that, I believe my mobile device and apps makes my life easier and therefore I want it to displace clunky, confusing, and complex IT – this is CoIT.

This desire for mobility in the enterprise is also driving a second ideological change; enterprises and their IT staff want to must manage and secure digital assets in a mobile milieu. Since mobility easily breaks down and dissolves our traditional notion of a network, aka a fence, we are struggling to keep up with building new fences that keep everything properly corralled. Every time we think we have the right size fence, mobility busts through and we chase on after it. It is precisely because of this that we have the second half of the alphabet soup – MDM, MAM, MIM, EMM. At first we thought we could just corral the devices – MDM, then the apps – MAM, then the data – MIM, and so on. We have to keep setting the posts further and further out.

I do think that precise definitions are important, but expecting everyone to be on the same page with terminology for a paradigm so new is not practical. For better or worse, most people have connected BYOD with the desire to have our mobile devices at work and MDM to represent the need to manage the aftermath of that desire. The job of those of us who have a higher than average interest in the industry should be to first, focus on guiding enterprises in the most efficient and cost effective way to meet the desire for mobile devices in the enterprise and second, help identify all security threats so that enterprise management vendors can build the correct fence(s). I think constructive debate around these motifs is healthy and worthwhile. We should share what we know of success and failures. We should be at the forefront of recommending best practices. We mobile champions should work together to bring this new compute paradigm to maturity.

*Acronym Key

• BYOD – Bring Your Own Device
• CoIT – Consumerization of IT
• MDM – Mobile Device Management
• MAM – Mobile Application Management
• MIM – Mobile Information Management
• EMM – Enterprise Mobility Management

Benjamin Robbins is a Principal at Palador, a consulting firm that focuses on providing strategic guidance to enterprises in the areas of mobile strategy, policy, apps, and data. You can follow him on Twitter or connect on LinkedIn.

AirWatch – The View from the Front

It would be hard to argue that AirWatch isn’t a definitive leader in the MDM space. To begin they are in the Leaders Quadrant of Gartner’s Magic Quadrant for MDM, their revenue is up 10 fold from a year ago, they are twice the size of their nearest competitor when it comes to employees, and they were the only MDM product that Forrester Research named as “innovator” for both On-Premise and Cloud-Hosted solutions. As well, they believe that any deployment worldwide of more than 20,000 mobile devices is managed by AirWatch. If that wasn’t impressive enough, when I got the chance chat with, Alan Dabbiere, Chairman of AirWarch, he put the icing on the cake by asserting “we’re doing this without any outside capital.”

With all this momentum, I was curious to find out how AirWatch plans to leverage it. I asked Dabbiere what they are doing to stay ahead.  “Scale is important in software. It gives you more money for R&D, more money for building partnerships, for marketing, for a broader product. It’s a pretty virtuous cycle in every way.” The economies of scale create a snowball effect that allow for efficiencies to be passed on to customers. Dabbiere continued, “Software wants leaders to emerge. It is so much cheaper to write software for a hundred million devices than for a million devices. I am amortizing development costs over more devices.” This translates into a more robust platform for clients.

I wanted to know what Dabbiere thinks sets AirWatch apart from competitors. He stated that the differentiator is the “breadth of capabilities. We are the only place you can go to get fully-integrated classic device management, secure mobile browser, secure content locker, and developer toolkit for jailbreak detection, Single Sign On, etc.” He noted that many MDM vendors claim that they provide the same breadth but that upon further digging it becomes apparent they do not. “When you are flying at 35,000 feet, Boston and Bombay look a lot alike.” Dabbiere also noted that their leadership position and size gives them an edge with staying current in the fast-paced realm of mobility. “We were the only product that had every iOS 5 feature built into our product the day iOS 5 was released.” Their large customer base makes them relevant to manufacturers and in-turn able to keep abreast of platform changes.

Being in the front of the pack comes with its challenges though – specifically growing pains. Dabbiere sees the key to avoiding some of the pitfalls he’s seen in the past, lies in the management team. “We’ve got a management team that is going to take us to the next level; that has seen this kind of growth.  We all can finish each other’s sentences and we know exactly what needs to be done.” He also looks to other success stories on how to grow smartly. “We are learning from great companies like Salesforce.com. We absolutely are looking at industry best practices and modeling off those and try to make improvements where it fits our business.”

In discussing the increasing trend of mobility in the enterprise, Dabbiere has a very positive outlook for its viability.  “Mobility can be used safely and responsibly. But it’s like water, you’ve got to channel it; make good decisions. Because if you just try to stop up water you are going to have a flood – you’re going to have a mess.” When it comes to enterprise mobility he believes that companies “are much better off creating policies, creating DLP, deciding what can and can’t go on devices, through good management.”  Dabbiere thinks that AirWatch will continue to have a strong central role as this trend continues. “We see device management, application management, security, content distribution -all of that as one footprint. We view that for the core of it – our space [MDM] is the one to deliver it.” Given that assertion,Dabbiere is definitely correct that when it comes to enterprise mobility AirWatch is “doing something that every device in the world needs.”

AirWatch is the global leader and innovator of enterprise-grade smartphone security and mobile device management solutions. An award-winning company, AirWatch has more than 1,700 customers in the retail, financial services, healthcare, government, distribution, education, hospitality, manufacturing, telecommunications and transportation industries. For more information, visit http://www.air-watch.com