Despite it becoming a more prevalent trend around the world among both big and small businesses, some employers are still wary of embracing the “bring-your-own-device” (BYOD) concept of allowing their workers to bring their personal laptops, smartphones and tablets to the office and using it for work.
Statics show that BYOD is not just a passing fad and that those businesses that don’t yet have some sort of BYOD policy in place need to get with the program or they will risk lagging behind.
IT research and advisory company Gartner last year described BYOD as “the most radical shift in enterprise client computing since the introduction of the PC”.
Gartner’s own research backs up this claim and demonstrates how widespread BYOD has already become. According to their statistics, 47% of businesses these days use containerisation – which is when employers allow for BYOD but still keep business-related data and communications separate. Thirty percent of companies embrace BYOD, 15% block it, and 8% still completely ignore it and pretend that it doesn’t exist.
When it comes to future projections, Gartner predicts that, within the next three years, those companies blocking BYOD will fall to below 3% and that ignoring it will no longer even be an option. It also predicts that the amount of companies embracing BYOD will double to 60%, and containerisation will drop to around 38%.
Anton van Heerden, GM of Altech ISIS, agrees that companies should embrace the concept of BYOD.
“It is rapidly changing the way in which organisations are interacting with not only their staff, but their customers too. BYOD is making interaction and communication much easier,” he says. “This interaction will either spawn higher profits or higher productivity. Either way, it’s a win-win situation for both business and consumers.”
Van Heerden acknowledges that companies reluctant to implement BYOD due to the fears that it will bring risks to their company’s IT security do have a legitimate point.
“Security will always be an issue. It was an issue in 2013 BC when your walls were never high enough to keep out your enemies’ catapults, and it is still an issue in 2013 AD. But this time, it is your firewall that is never sophisticated enough to keep out the latest Trojan Horse. So in terms of risk and threat, nothing has changed except the means of attack,” Van Heerden says.
“The other change is how we deal with it. Security needs to be at the endpoint. That is the weakest link in the chain. This has never been truer with BYOD, because it is the person who is carrying the device that is the biggest security issue by far. We have to educate and enable the people to implement a more stringent security policy.”
Another important impact BYOD is expected to have is on how it will further expand big data. A recent article in Forbes Magazine says that big data is the key to everything.
“The Web runs on data. Everything we do there as individuals, from the queries we type in a search box, to the social connections we make, delivers data that is collected, read, analysed and repurposed to provide more tailored online services. The search indexes of companies like Google, Apple and Microsoft rely on the accumulation of this big data to refine their programming and provide faster, more accurate results.”
“Yes, data will increase. What we need to decide is whether this increase is worth it. There are some big organisations that embrace big data and use it as a business tool, such as Apple with its iCloud or Yahoo! with its increased mailbox sizes,” says Van Heerden.
“They may not want to hoard all of our digital detritus, but they do it because they know it’s good for business, because consumers will stick with providers that do not limit them. Likewise, other organisations must embrace big data from their shareholders and customers.
“No one likes to store meaningless data, but if the return on investment is good enough and it provides a company with the economic edge, then it is worth the hassle.”
Van Heerden continues: “It can be compared to giving customers and staff free coffee. A company might not necessarily want to incur that expense, but they do because it fosters great relationships and makes good business sense.”
That is why Van Heerden predicts that big data will not explode as some predict, but it will rather be managed better. The chain reaction will continue and big data will lead to virtualisation, he says.
“It is because of economies of scale. Virtualisation ‘farms’ will come along that will allow you to virtualise your data and storage, keeping it somewhere that is fit for purpose, large scale and, therefore, much cheaper than what you would have been able to do on your own,” he explains.
“Centuries ago, most people used to keep chickens in order to have eggs. Now no one keeps chickens. They are all kept in large scale central points, fit for the purpose and more economically viable.”
“I am not saying that anyone should keep all their eggs in one basket, but that they should rather buy space from someone who has a bigger, better and cheaper basket than themselves,” Van Heerden concludes.
Statics show that BYOD is not just a passing fad and that those businesses that don’t yet have some sort of BYOD policy in place need to get with the program or they will risk lagging behind.
IT research and advisory company Gartner last year described BYOD as “the most radical shift in enterprise client computing since the introduction of the PC”.
Gartner’s own research backs up this claim and demonstrates how widespread BYOD has already become. According to their statistics, 47% of businesses these days use containerisation – which is when employers allow for BYOD but still keep business-related data and communications separate. Thirty percent of companies embrace BYOD, 15% block it, and 8% still completely ignore it and pretend that it doesn’t exist.
When it comes to future projections, Gartner predicts that, within the next three years, those companies blocking BYOD will fall to below 3% and that ignoring it will no longer even be an option. It also predicts that the amount of companies embracing BYOD will double to 60%, and containerisation will drop to around 38%.
Anton van Heerden, GM of Altech ISIS, agrees that companies should embrace the concept of BYOD.
“It is rapidly changing the way in which organisations are interacting with not only their staff, but their customers too. BYOD is making interaction and communication much easier,” he says. “This interaction will either spawn higher profits or higher productivity. Either way, it’s a win-win situation for both business and consumers.”
Van Heerden acknowledges that companies reluctant to implement BYOD due to the fears that it will bring risks to their company’s IT security do have a legitimate point.
“Security will always be an issue. It was an issue in 2013 BC when your walls were never high enough to keep out your enemies’ catapults, and it is still an issue in 2013 AD. But this time, it is your firewall that is never sophisticated enough to keep out the latest Trojan Horse. So in terms of risk and threat, nothing has changed except the means of attack,” Van Heerden says.
“The other change is how we deal with it. Security needs to be at the endpoint. That is the weakest link in the chain. This has never been truer with BYOD, because it is the person who is carrying the device that is the biggest security issue by far. We have to educate and enable the people to implement a more stringent security policy.”
Another important impact BYOD is expected to have is on how it will further expand big data. A recent article in Forbes Magazine says that big data is the key to everything.
“The Web runs on data. Everything we do there as individuals, from the queries we type in a search box, to the social connections we make, delivers data that is collected, read, analysed and repurposed to provide more tailored online services. The search indexes of companies like Google, Apple and Microsoft rely on the accumulation of this big data to refine their programming and provide faster, more accurate results.”
“Yes, data will increase. What we need to decide is whether this increase is worth it. There are some big organisations that embrace big data and use it as a business tool, such as Apple with its iCloud or Yahoo! with its increased mailbox sizes,” says Van Heerden.
“They may not want to hoard all of our digital detritus, but they do it because they know it’s good for business, because consumers will stick with providers that do not limit them. Likewise, other organisations must embrace big data from their shareholders and customers.
“No one likes to store meaningless data, but if the return on investment is good enough and it provides a company with the economic edge, then it is worth the hassle.”
Van Heerden continues: “It can be compared to giving customers and staff free coffee. A company might not necessarily want to incur that expense, but they do because it fosters great relationships and makes good business sense.”
That is why Van Heerden predicts that big data will not explode as some predict, but it will rather be managed better. The chain reaction will continue and big data will lead to virtualisation, he says.
“It is because of economies of scale. Virtualisation ‘farms’ will come along that will allow you to virtualise your data and storage, keeping it somewhere that is fit for purpose, large scale and, therefore, much cheaper than what you would have been able to do on your own,” he explains.
“Centuries ago, most people used to keep chickens in order to have eggs. Now no one keeps chickens. They are all kept in large scale central points, fit for the purpose and more economically viable.”
“I am not saying that anyone should keep all their eggs in one basket, but that they should rather buy space from someone who has a bigger, better and cheaper basket than themselves,” Van Heerden concludes.