Experts offer opinions on consumerization, mobility growth

Enterprise IT nonprofit ISACA recently announced that three major trends will shape companies in 2012, and two of them address enterprise mobility directly. The organization said that companies can expect the consumerization trend to push onward and upward as enterprise mobility programs also expand.

In addition to highlighting these increasingly important trends, a report from ISACA also offered opinions and recommendations on how to best leverage them for the greatest advantage possible.

Beginning with consumerization, the ISACA report stated that the bring-your-own-device model for enterprise mobility will gain popularity in 2012 as companies and end-users alike recognize its benefits.

“BYOD … is a fast-moving train. IT departments have to jump on it or risk getting left at the station,” said Robert Stroud, past international vice president of ISACA.

But the organization also warned against companies simply diving in head-first. Embracing and supporting personally owned smartphones and tablets takes a careful approach to mobile device management, ISACA argued.

Such MDM practices are two-pronged in terms of security, Stroud said. The protection of data is perhaps a company's greatest concern when practicing BYOD, as there is a feeling of a loss of control when employees own their devices and the IT department has little to no say about the applications that are downloaded.

However, Stroud said, companies should begin by focusing on the devices themselves. That means developing policies for remote wipe and lock of smartphones and tablets in the event they are lost or stolen. Next, enterprise data should be secured when it will be accessed by consumer devices.

"IT will need to answer questions such as, ‘Who is accessing corporate information, when and from what device? Is the device trustworthy?’” said Stroud.

Developing a greater focus on such MDM practices will also help a company deal with the impending boom that will be experienced by enterprise mobility in general next year. Many organizations jumped on the use of smartphones and tablets this year, but adoption rates will pale in comparison to 2012, according to ISACA's report.

While that means improved productivity for employees, the situation will also present even more mobile security risks. Companies must ensure they are prepared, the report stated.

Also recently, a CIOL report highlighted the accelerating move toward BYOD programs. Many companies figure to prioritize mobile application management next year to ensure end-users get the most out of their software.