Configure it done – Ditch the IT manual for BYOD

Whether you like it or not, you can pretty much bet that your employees are working on your network with their own personal smart devices. Rather than try and halt the in-coming tide that many IT department’s face, the question you should be asking is how to address this demand in a way that is mutually beneficial. IT departments facing the BYOD challenge or the challenge of employee mobile productivity are learning quickly that they can’t test and approve every type of mobile device to determine if it meets the security standards and protocols set out by the organisation. Even if device approval was attempted, there are so many different devices that could access your network and they are changing so rapidly that this would turn into a full time occupation for the IT department. It’s time to ditch the idea of the IT manual that restricts devices and configure your IT for the always-connected world.

Providing secure access to the corporate systems while at the same time providing a framework for BYOD usage is driving many CIOs and IT directors to consider the option of using virtual desktop solutions as part of their overall BYOD strategy- giving IT departments the means to provide the operating system, applications, documents and data employees normally use at their desks to any device, including tablets, smartphones and even personally-owned home computers. All they need is an internet connection and the right security credentials.

As an accessible hub from where you can access all that you need, wherever you are, virtual desktops essentially provide a ‘workspace’ that can keep all business applications and data entirely separate to personal items and can be managed centrally. Resources, applications, storage and security privileges are managed from one environment and access can be suspended in an instant.

This “Workspace-as-a-Service (WaaS)” approach allows clearer mapping of what is needed for localised users, mobiles users and ‘nomads’ (people working a significant time outside of corporate premises, with an unpredictable quality of connection). The WaaS approach is about putting the user at the heart of the infrastructure and building a strategy that is user centric, not device centric.

So what does catering for these users provide for the business?

Well firstly, think about office space. You know that wherever your employees are, they can be productive using a device that they’re comfortable using, safe in the knowledge that they are securely connected. This could change the way you work, giving you greater flexibility and increased productivity. Let’s take an example: your sales team spends Monday-Thursday on the road and Friday updating their records for the week. With a WaaS approach, they can collaborate, share and file reports on the road, allowing them to do what they do best and sell your business every single day of the working week. By providing the mobile services that they need, such as secure file exchange coupled with access to corporate systems that support their day to day activities, they don’t need to use less secure public services for file sharing and collaboration. For key services you may also provide corporate apps to complement the virtual desktop approach. It also means you don’t need to have equipment sat in the office that is only used when the team return at the end of the week.

Today’s successful companies are already implementing virtual workspaces across their business and it’s not hard to see why. As long as you pick a supplier you trust to keep your data secure, you too can negate repeated issues with bandwidth and under-utilisation of paid resources, as well as minimising (avoidable) future hardware costs. It’s time to throw away the manual and configure your IT to give your employees’ tools the freedom they to work towards your business objectives.