While watching football over the weekend with friends, the topic of the new iPhone came up. Someone in the group had one and started showing it off. Many people in attendance were interested, but it lead to the following exchange:
Person 1: I'm surprised you don't have one yet. You're always on top of the latest technology.
Person 2: I can't upgrade my company phone until the IT department vets the new one. Last time it took a month.
A similar back and forth was held between countless parties over the last week and the circumstances behind it is an unfortunate factor of mobile device management. While employees would prefer it to be an immediate, buy, plug-and-play kind of situation, IT departments need to take it slow when adding new devices to the company network.
When the devices are company owned, they need to make sure every gadget is secure and that the network can support them. On top of that, all mobile applications and built-in security features need to be tested to ensure they will not hinder productivity or create a security vulnerability when they are allowed in the workplace.
This can be slightly sidestepped by enacting a bring-your-own-device policy. Just like before, however, security will remain a concern and organizations can not run the risk of blindly allowing access to sensitive company information.
Testing out these devices can be a struggle, which is where an IT consulting firm that specializes in mobile device integration like iPad deployment can become a valuable asset for getting the latest technology into your office sooner.
