IT departments know what employees want and are responding to their demands. BYOD has spawned device trends and employee behaviors that continue to have impacts across the enterprise, and IT is challenged by this device proliferation. Interestingly, IT understands what it needs to do, but this awareness doesn't always translate into action. Such inaction is risky, particularly at a time when mobile complexity is multiplying and data and connectivity costs seem likely to rise.
Streamlining carrier relationships is a good first step. Investigating affordable alternatives, such as Wi-Fi as a replacement for mobile broadband, also makes sense. Above all, IT departments should establish enterprise mobility strategies including coherent guidelines for BYOD and mobile application management. Codifying expectations will reduce IT frustrations and put employees' focus back where it should be: work.
The annual 2013 iPass/MobileIron Mobile Enterprise Report tells a story of the rise of BYOD, and with it increased frustration and loss of control by IT along with a concern over rising mobile data costs. Among the highlights: the report discloses how IT departments are becoming more responsive to mobile employee demands, it reveals the top two sources of frustration and IT issues, and it identifies the changing popularity of mobile devices such as tablets, iPhones, and Blackberry . This report is a must read for the IT manager who now supports or who has been asked to support employees’ mobile devices because it concludes with some solid advice on how to translate trends into actionable support plans for BYOD.