There’s a constant tug of war in organizations thanks to mobility: On the one hand it frees staff to work outside the office, on the other hand it increases risk.
It means IT departments have to choose a strategy that protects the enterprise but allows employees the freedom to take maximum advantage of wireless devices.
The problem, as a recent article in NetworkWorld U.S. points out, is the same whether the organization has a BYOD policy, or it supplies staff with devices.
In this case the article notes the struggle of a school in the state of Georgia, which supplies students with Apple iPads, Kids being kids want to use the devices for playing games as well as learning.
The school is considering using a mobile device management (MDM)solution to restrict the apps that can be downloaded onto the tablets.
The MDM market — which one source estimates has some 300 providers — is constantly changing, with software companies regularly adding new capabilities for organizations to limit what users can do on mobile devices.
IT managers have to make sure their MDM solution is running the latest version to ensure they can take advantage of these features.