Challenge: Mobilizing Technology

Today's business is facing the challenge of how to mobilize technology to their workforce in a manner that is both secure and flexible. Smartphones and tablets are becoming part of our everyday business toolkit and companies need to learn how to best utilize those resources within their unique IT environment.

Driving Business

These tools open doors for a new breed of business. The form factor of these mobility devices allows for secure computing to utilized in places previously impossible. Examples of mobility adoption include utility companies outfitting meter readers with Smartphones and hosted applications that allow for meter reading to be scanned by the device and transferred back to the database real-time. Also, many doctors are carrying tablets to access medical records and update healthcare information or to review medical images while meeting with patients. Those are just a couple of the applications that are becoming a reality with the advances in mobile technology hardware and software.

Mobility and the Cloud

We have all heard the line "there's and app for that" and often it is true. If you need a service there is a good chance that there has been a app developed for mobility use. The cloud, beyond being the method for delivering applications from the marketplace to your device, it is also where those applications are operating.

Data is stored and accesses via public clouds like Facebook and Twitter, hosted applications like Salesforce and SAP, and private clouds operating out of corporate or commercial data centers. Each transfers information with ease to the handheld devices allowing for anytime anywhere access on virtually any internet connected device.

Challenges for the IT Team

Today's IT departments are faced with challenges from the increased usage of mobility devices. Corporate data can easily be accessed as the devices have become easier to configure with popular mail platforms like Microsoft Exchange. The end-user of today is generally tech savvy enough to connect to the mail system without assistance from IT. There are many challenges facing mobility delivery including:

1. The ability to protect the data being transmitted on the devices

2. Best practices for allowing access to corporate data from Smartphones and Tablets.

3. How to safeguard data if a un it is lost or stolen.

4. Managing rouge units that "appear" on the network.

5. Does IT support multiple platforms (IPhone, IPad, Android, BalckBerry) or standardize on a single platform.

The fact that many of these devices are available to your users and easily purchased via traditional retail outlets. The reality for today's IT Department is whether they are ready or not mobility is here today and all these new devices are now apart of the day to day operations of many already resource stressed IT departments. PCNet can help!