Popular new devices like Apple’s iPhone have reignited the debate over ‘consumerization’--where new technologies are introduced into the consumer market and then brought into the enterprise market--with employees determined to integrate their personal devices with their enterprise applications. However, IT managers are reluctant to take on the responsibility of managing these devices, according to a new report by independent market analyst Datamonitor.
The report “Enterprise Mobility: Trend Analysis to 2012," predicts global enterprise expenditure on mobile devices will grow from $6 billion today to an estimated $17 billion by 2012, "which highlights the need for IT managers to begin to implement mobile device policies as ever more enterprises look to expand their mobile workforces," the company said.
"Enterprises are fighting a losing battle against employees when it comes to mobile devices and they should consider supporting a limited selection of devices rather than banning them outright", said Daniel Okubo, technology analyst with London-based Datamonitor and the report's author. "Allowing a range of the most popular devices will improve employee satisfaction and encourage more of them to embrace mobile devices and improve their productivity when away from the office."
Security concerns, however, are the largest barrier to mobility deployments, said Datamonitor.
The company noted that in a survey it conducted to establish issues that are currently preventing enterprises from investing in mobility solutions, the majority of the 467 respondents rated security as the greatest barrier to adoption of mobility solutions.
Datamonitor suggested that IT Managers need to have mobile device policies in place. "So far very few IT departments have yielded to these requests and are refusing to be responsible for managing such a wide variety of mobile devices. However, the iPhone has set a new standard for device userability and the trend of ‘consumerization’ is going to continue," the company said, adding that the ability to lock, wipe and remotely diagnose devices is crucial
Clearly, these developments will surprise no one who follows the technology market, but the larger question remains: What do we do with the glut of consumer devices that will almost surely penetrate our enterprises--whether we like it or not or whether we know about it or not?
The relatively poor state of security for most mobile devices suggests that insurance enterprises should keep them far away, so a policy certainly makes sense. But is such a policy really enforceable? Share your opinions here!