How Cloud Can Resolve Storage Problems Associated With the Internet of Things

By Lori MacVittie

A CompTIA survey says while IoT might be over-hyped, it still promises real business value.
The Internet of things (IoT) is over-hyped, but considered to promise real business value according to a recent CompTIA survey, "Sizing Up the Internet of Things" which revealed 51 percent of IT executives believe IoT opportunities justify the hype with 48 percent believing there's more hype than substance right now.

Both are correct, of course. We're in the midst of a ramp up of IoT hype and while there have been significant business opportunity already scooped up by those in a position to do so, the hype is also high. It's the beginning of a technology trend, after all. Rising hype is to be expected.

Earlier this year, Gartner (IT) touched on the issue of data and its storage in "Gartner Says the Internet of Things Will Transform the Data Center" noting:

Data — The impact of the IoT on storage is two-pronged in types of data to be stored: personal data (consumer-driven) and big data (enterprise-driven). As consumers utilize apps and devices continue to learn about the user, significant data will be generated.
Indeed, the split of data types brings to the table concerns regarding privacy, compliance and control over each type of data. After all, personal data is mine, mine I say, and thus I should have complete control over its access, use and storage. Enterprise data, on the other hand, is something of a no-man's land with my preferences taken into consideration but ultimately its governance lies in the hands of those who collected and store it.

Cloud may be one way of resolving the problems associated with the need to build out ostensibly two separate (and costly) infrastructures to deal with storage, access and management of the data collected by the things that make up the IoT. Consumers, already well-versed in the use of cloud storage (seriously, my six year old believes cloud is synonymous with storage "out there" thanks to Minecraft) are more likely to be willing to "split the stream" as it were and use their own, cloud storage for personal data while traditional "big data" can be handled by the enterprise as it will (perhaps in the cloud as well).

By taking advantage of existing personal cloud storage options, organizations can shift the burden of storing and governing personal data onto the consumers who, for the most part, desire that control. The existing options for cloud and off-site data storage are mature and offer fairly robust integration methods (APIs) that organizations can take advantage of without extensive investment in the systems necessary to build out (and maintain) a similar environment on-premise.

Data storage and management is a critical component of the IoT. But we do need to, as Gartner as done, separate personal data from corporate, enterprise data before we begin designing the applications and systems that will enable organizations to participate and win in the economy of things. The differences in how and where we store, manage and govern access to both types of data has a very real impact on the design of the systems and applications that will eventually underpin the Internet of things.

Cloud storage is well-positioned tip at least the data obstacle toward substance.

Do you believe the IT industry as over-hyped IoT? How can organizations become better suited to leverage and manage IoT going forward?

Verizon on Internet of Things, the connected car: Location is key

Summary: According to Verizon, the mass adoption of tech which tracks our location and changes our environment as a result is far closer than we think.

 Charlie Osborne 

Credit: CNET

Verizon believes that the mass adoption of tech which tracks our location through Internet of Things connected devices is a reality far closer than we believe to be.
The Internet of Things (IoT) is the concept of connecting devices to the Web and to other appliances to make energy use more efficient, appliances more effective and to use data which makes daily lives more convenient. From smart fridges which alert you if temperatures drop too far to keep food fresh to coffee machines which automatically turn on when you wake up and vehicles that 'talk' to each other and share data, IoT is a fledgling industry with much potential.
Cisco estimates that IoT will generate $14.4 trillion in economic activity in the next decade. However, according to Kevin Link, senior vice president and GM China at Verizon Telematics, it is the bridge between IoT and the connected car which has the most potential in today's business environment.

"The intersection between IoT and the car is location. When you think about how people conduct their daily lives, there are hundreds of examples out there where people have created algorithms. If the car is a learning car, it would know in the morning and in the afternoon what I’m doing and where I’m going – ‘I’m going home or I’m going to work’ – and it would change my experience [accordingly]."

For example, if your location is 'the car,' then that connection to a smart home would mean lights could turn off automatically, thermostats could be turned down, and appliances stopped. If the car learns your daily patterns, then it could estimate how far away you were from home, and change appliances in turn -- for example, turning your thermostat back to your preferred level, or turning the coffee maker on in time for you to arrive.

Link says that we are closer than we realize for this vision to become reality, due to the fact that many changes which need to be made are software-related rather than hardware-based. However, there are still challenges for automakers to overcome in terms of creating standards for interoperability, compatibility, safety and security.
On Tuesday, the Intelligent Transportation Society of America (ITS America) joined US President Obama at the Turner-Fairbank Highway Research Center in McLean, VA where the President underscored the importance of using connected car technology and the research of new vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) and vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) communication technology. The President believes that V2V and V2I could be used to improve the future safety and mobility of our cars, as well as reduce time, waste and fuel.
However, while the convenience of having your coffee turn on as you drive home is an interesting idea, privacy concerns are another factor. Link mentioned the concept of a student's phone automatically turning on silent and back to normal settings based on whether the child was in school or not -- and there is something less than palatable about the idea of being so obviously tracked. In a time where surveillance and tracking has caused public outrage -- the NSA scandal case in question -- the concept of your daily habits being stored and used by IoT firms will not be to everyone's taste.
"We want this to be safe," Link said. "We don't want people to be able to look at other people's security cameras, or change the lighting in someone's house or car [...] so we've got some things to do, but most of it is software related."

Topics: Innovation, Verizon

GAME OF DRONES

FAA expected to give movie, television production companies permission to fly drones

This image provided by Aerial MOB, LLC

By JOAN LOWY, Associated Press
September 25, 2014 - 5:38 AM

WASHINGTON — The Federal Aviation Administration is expected to announce Thursday that it is granting permits to seven movie and television production companies to fly drones, an important step toward greater use of the technology by commercial operators, said attorneys and a company official familiar with the decision.
However, the permits are expected to come with limitations, including that the unmanned aircraft be used only on closed sets and that they be operated by a three-person team, including a trained drone operator.
Until now, the only permit for commercial drone operations the FAA has granted has been to the Conoco Phillips oil company, which has flown two kinds of unmanned aircraft in unpopulated areas of Alaska and over the Arctic Ocean with significant limitations on their use.
The FAA is under intense pressure from Congress and a plethora of industries that want to use the technology or sell it to others to relax its ban on commercial drone use. Companies want to use drones to monitor pipelines, inspect the undersides of oil platforms and bridges, and spray crops. Amazon and Google want to use them to deliver packages. Wedding videographers, real estate agents, journalists and other many others are clamoring to use them as well.
The seven movie and television companies are regarded by agencies as trailblazers, the first of what are likely to be dozens of industries that could be approved in coming months for drone operations under limited circumstances.

Cj Godlewski I accept your #icebucketchallenge and will also donate to ALS. In return I challenge Nick Per Michael Quigley Rodney Tavarez and Michael Stazzone. You guys have 24 hours to accept this challenge and/or donate to ALS.

Here's a phrase you're about to hear a lot more of — if you haven't already: the "Internet of Things."
Why? It's about to be the next big thing. What does it mean? It's not just computers and phones that are linked up to the Internet — it's your stuff: refrigerators and glasses and trains and buildings.

The buzz about the Internet of things really took off earlier this year, when Google acquired smart thermostat and smoke alarm company Nest for $3.2 billion. What else is a member of this new club? Wearable devices like the Fitbit and Nike FuelBand trackers that monitor our physical activity and store that data in the cloud, Google Glass and more. But the surprising twist is that the big money in this next big thing may lie in a slightly less sexy arena than you'd think. The real future of devices that talk to each other may lie not in Google users but in smart-ifying, formerly clunky industrial companies.

Folks who have worked on building automation, railroads, heating efficiency and more are stepping full force into the Internet of Things space. Companies like Cisco ("Internet of Everything"), GE ("Industrial Internet") and others in the Valley that were around long before the dot-coms showed up now have the chance to make big-time bucks by smartening up a bunch of hefty, old-school stuff that affects our daily lives.

From banking paradise to data hub
Achieving the perfect selfie
Remembering another downed civilian aircraft

Examples? Take a smart sensor that GE is testing … in prisons. Or GE's robotic hospital systems that would handle everything from deliveries to sterilization. Or Cisco's "Internet of Everything" public sector projects — now underway across the globe: In Stockholm, the company has put cameras on city streets to monitor traffic activity and sensors to track public buses.

Varun Nagaraj, one of the players in this hot new market, is CEO of an "old" (by Valley standards), $16.5 million company called Sierra Monitor Corp., which provides gas and flame detection systems and gateway products that connect old and new things to a network. He is more pumped about the industrial Internet of things than the consumer -focused market. Meaning he's more into railroads and building automation than your Jawbone and Fitbit.
Smart cities, smart trains, smart factories — as Nagaraj puts it, those are the changes that, "over the next 20 years … will make a material difference to society, that will make a material difference to the economy … as opposed to an individual being able to measure how fit he is or not."

And though the Internet of Things is the hot new thing, it's actually been growing under the surface for ages — companies like Comcast, Verizon and AT&T have been selling home security packages with connected devices. But there remains a ton of potential to "connect" (hook up to the Internet) our transportations systems, our highways, our large-scale agriculture — even our warships. Smarter highways might mean lanes that could adapt to traffic flow or roads someday that could serve fleets of autonomous vehicles driving 100 mph, just inches apart.
Here's your cheat sheet for understanding the next Facebook — and here are three big reasons why the Internet of Things is about to explode:

1. COST:
It used to cost a ton of money to connect stuff to the Internet. No more. It's cheaper and easier to connect things than ever before, so more stuff can become intelligent. For example, Nagaraj says a parking meter can now be part of an intelligent city for just a few dollars — the cost of linking the meter to a sensor that detects if a spot is occupied or not, and to install a smart sign indicating to drivers if the parking spot is already taken. "In the past you could have done it, but it might have cost you $100," he said. "Now it costs you $5, and suddenly there is a business case to turn a parking meter into an intelligent parking meter."

2. BIG DATA AND ANALYTICS:
We're all data nerds these days. And as Nagaraj explains, "All kinds of dumb devices in the past now suddenly have the ability to tell you what they know." With all the information flowing through, he says people can crunch the data to reveal new insights to make smarter decisions. For instance, smart streetlights in a city might be able to be dimmed on slowly during an evening when the electric grid is facing high peak demand — instead of wasting energy. Or a connected city with smart parking meters might be able to direct drivers to available spots.

3. FINANCIAL:
The industrial Internet of Things has the potential to fundamentally move society forward, Nagaraj believes. These innovations could include cities developing connected transport systems and factories working only when they need to work, when demand requires it. "It is those changes over the next 20 years that will make a material difference to society … [and] to the economy, in my opinion." But who stands to reap the greatest financial benefit remains to be seen: It could be the old industrial conglomerates (think GE, Siemens, Honeywell), small to midsized companies trying to build bigger, or the venture capital world.

Venture capitalists, for one, aren't fully on board yet — precisely because it's hard to track who the clearest financial winner will be. Which may actually be why big companies (GE, Cisco and others) will be the most successful. There can only be so many Nests.

Sanjay Sarma, a professor of mechanical engineering at MIT, tells OZY that the huge challenge remains that the Internet of Things is still in a Wild West state. (Sarma's colleague Kevin Ashton is credited with inventing the term "Internet of Things.") Everything's being developed in an "ad-hoc manner," says Sarma, which means the field is missing a "dominant architecture" or common language — like what the World Wide Web is to the Internet or what alternating current (AC) is to power grids. For designers, a dominant architecture makes things easy to understand and build systems around. Without that, Sarma says, security becomes a problem.

All of this — even the challenges — sound like a big, big opportunity for someone hungry to solve. So open the doors for the next big thing.

By Samuel Greengard

Radical change requires radically different thinking. Business and IT leaders must begin to prepare for a highly connected and data-driven future.

The Internet of things is no longer an abstract concept. For better or worse, sensors and electronic monitoring systems are winding up just about everywhere.

Some industry observers say we're now on the cusp of a new era, "Industry 4.0," which refers to the fourth wave of disruptive industrial innovation. The previous waves encompassed mechanization, mass production, and the introduction of computers and electronics. This new wave of machine-to-machine (M2M) communication is almost certain to make today's disruptive environment look like a sea of tranquility in comparison.

A few connected devices produce some modest benefits, including cost savings. But thousands or millions of connected devices revolutionize processes and entire industries. The intersection of location awareness, enhanced situational awareness, sensor-based decision analytics, and automation and controls creates entirely new business and pricing models. Combine these capabilities with big data and everything changes.

Already, jet engine manufacturers charge airlines based on actual engine use as measured by thrust. Insurance companies, such as MetroMile, have introduced a pay-as-you-go model that replaces aggregate data with pricing based on actual mileage. A small box that plugs into a vehicle's diagnostic port transmits data to the company via a cellular modem.

Entirely new car rental systems, such as Zipcar, have popped up in recent years. These allow consumers to locate a nearby vehicle using a smartphone and then rent a car by the hour.

Further out, autonomous (self-driving) vehicles could eviscerate the concept of car ownership. You simply order a vehicle using your smartphone, and it arrives in minutes or even seconds. The service provider knows precisely how far a person has driven, how much fuel has been consumed, and how much wear and tear has been put on the vehicle.

There's also a good chance that health care providers will eventually reward those who consent to persistent monitoring by using devices such as activity wristbands, sensors embedded in clothing and even nanobots in the bloodstream.

Within this new connected order, the nature and value of data also changes. Gartner predicts that, within a few years, information assets will appear on corporate balance sheets.

Companies may even begin to pay consumers for their data. Capgemini Global CTO Lanny Cohen believes that data will eventually emerge as a bona fide currency. "Valuations of companies are likely to be based heavily on data," he predicts.

One thing is clear: Radical change requires radically different thinking. Business and IT leaders must begin to prepare for a highly connected and data-driven future.

Welcome To The Grind (Motivation)

"Rise and shine. 6am and your hand can't make it to the alarm clock before the voices in your head start telling you that it's too early, too dark, and too cold to get out of a bed.

Verizon 2014 Data Breach Investigations Report

 The 2014 DBIR is the most actionable yet and it will help companies to focus their strategy and approach more effectively. Download the report today to understand the key patterns and recommendations by industry.
Quick Facts:

• Seventh consecutive year of publication with more than 10 years of data
• Data from 50 organizations around the world
• 1,367 confirmed data breaches
• 63,000+ reported security incidents from 95 countries
• 92% of all incidents from the last 10 years fall into nine patterns 

Download the full 2014 Data Breach Investigations Report here: http://vz.to/DBIR2014

How the Internet of Things will put pressure on data centers.

Data Center

by Amy-jo Crowley| 18 March 2014

 
Objects will generate big data that needs to be processed and analyzed in real time. 
 
Smart devices will put pressure on data centers as they generate big data that needs to be processed and analysed in real time, according to the latest research.

Gartner predicts that there will be 26 billion Internet of Things (IoT) units installed by 2020 as IoT suppliers generate $300bn in revenue.

IoT refers to appliances enabled with sensors and assigned their own IP address that connect to the internet - thus creating a world where devices and machines can communicate with each other, interpret information and make intelligent decisions in real time as more and more devices connect to the internet.

Fabrizio Biscotti, a research director at Gartner, said: "Processing large quantities of IoT data in real time will increase as a proportion of workloads of data centers, leaving providers facing new security, capacity and analytic challenges."
Gartner outlined the following challenges for data center technology providers.

1. Security - The increasing digitization and automation of the multitudes of devices deployed across different areas of modern urban environments are set to create new security challenges to many industries.

2. Enterprise - Significant security challenges will remain as the big data created as a result of the deployment of myriad devices will drastically increase security complexity. This, in turn, will have an impact on availability requirements, which are also expected to increase, putting real-time business processes and, potentially, personal safety at risk.

3. Consumer Privacy - As is already the case with smart metering equipment and increasingly digitized automobiles, there will be a vast amount of data providing information on users' personal use of devices that, if not secured, can give rise to breaches of privacy. This is particularly challenging as the information generated by IoT is a key to bringing better services and the management of such devices.

4. Data - The impact of the IoT on storage is two-pronged in types of data to be stored: personal data (consumer-driven) and big data (enterprise-driven). As consumers utilize apps and devices continue to learn about the user, significant data will be generated.

5. Storage Management - The impact of the IoT on storage infrastructure is another factor contributing to the increasing demand for more storage capacity, and one that will have to be addressed as this data becomes more prevalent. The focus today must be on storage capacity, as well as whether or not the business can harvest and use IoT data in a cost-effective manner.

6. Server Technologies - The impact of IoT on the server market will be largely focused on increased investment in key vertical industries and organizations related to those industries where IoT can be profitable or add significant value.

7. Data Center Network - Existing data center WAN links are sized for the moderate-bandwidth requirements generated by human interactions with applications. IoT promises to dramatically change these patterns by transferring massive amounts of small message sensor data to the data center for processing, dramatically increasing inbound data center bandwidth requirements.

Netflix IT is no house of cards

 BY IJCOX 

When looking for a case study of digital disruption there is probably no better example than Netflix, the US company that has revolutionized how we consume films and TV shows at home and on the move. Netflix started life in 1997 as a direct rival to Blockbuster in the DVD rental market. Instead of building a chain of thousands of stores to compete with its larger and more established rival, the Netflix model relied on using the postal system as a low cost distribution network.

The emergence of a low cost rival was challenging enough for Blockbuster but when Netflix introduced its video steaming service in 2007, the real disruption of its core market began. And this disruption would eventually play a major part in the demise of the Blockbuster business, which finally stopped trading towards the end of 2013. Today, Netflix has over 44 million members in more than 40 countries who view more than one billion hours of TV shows and movies per month. The company, which refers to itself as the “world’s leading internet television network”, has redefined the market for viewing films and TV.

And, if you are looking for an example of reinventing enterprise IT, then the way in which Netflix VP of IT Operations, Mike D Kail, runs the organization’s technology function is a good starting point. In a recent interview with CXOTalk, Kail summarised his philosophy for IT at Netflix with the comment “don’t build data centers if it’s not your core business.” In other words, as Kail explained further, he wants his IT team to focus on being an entertainment company, not on “hardware, network infrastructure and storage systems” which are readily available from service providers. To demonstrate his commitment to this approach he has migrated the company’s finance systems to the cloud, implemented Google apps and even the in-house developed customer applications, which are part of the core business, are deployed in the cloud thereby eliminating the need to acquire, maintain and support the infrastructure that would be needed to host these solutions internally. His objective is to have 100% of corporate IT in the cloud by the end of the current year.

In the digital age technology is being used to enable new capabilities, enhance the customer experience, create value and generate revenue; technology is now a source of differentiation and competitive advantage in all industries. To stay relevant and to play a key role in the digital age, CIOs and their departments also need to shift their focus to creating value and driving revenue. They cannot do this if the majority of the IT resources and hence management attention are allocated to maintaining and supporting the organisation’s existing infrastructure and systems. By focusing his team on the core business of Netflix Kail is ensuring that they are adding real value to the organization.

There has never been a better time for IT to fix its reputation in the industry. CIOs have to start fixing the reputation of their functions now. To succeed in the digital age, organizations need the right type of IT function, one that is focused on the areas where technology will have the greatest impact, is proactive and works with the rest of the business to find ways to use technology to create value. Businesses that do not have this type of IT function will find it increasingly hard to compete in the digital age. And CIOs that do not take this path are likely to find themselves bypassed by the rest of the organization and ultimately out of a job.

Verizon Study Finds Few Organizations 

in Compliance with Payment Card 

 Security Standards

According to the Verizon 2014 PCI Compliance Report, which was released today, more than 82 percent of organizations were compliant with at least 80 percent of the PCI standard at the time of their annual baseline assessments in 2013, compared to just 32 percent in 2012.

The study, which aggregates data from actual PCI assessments done by Verizon during the course of the year, offers a look at the actual experiences of businesses that must comply with PCI DSS, which is the mandated set of guidelines for any organization that handles credit card transactions.

While assessment-time compliance is up, many organizations tend to fall out of compliance between audits, the study says.

"We continue to see many organizations viewing PCI compliance as a single annual event, unaware that compliance needs to have a 365-day-a-year focus," stated Rodolphe Simonetti, managing director for the PCI practice at Verizon Enterprise Solutions.

Areas where businesses struggle the most in achieving initial compliance include security testing (23.8 percent); security monitoring and the ability to effectively detect and respond to data compromised (17 percent); and protecting stored sensitive data (55.6 percent), the report says.

The compliance problem is not an issue of technology or flaws in the standards, but in the ongoing implementation, Verizon states.

"Anything less than 100 percent compliance is an issue for businesses today," Simonetti said . "We have seen time and time again that noncompliance leaves an organization open to credit card theft, which can potentially cost hundreds of millions of dollars when you factor in all the damages -- not to mention lost consumer trust and the impact on brand reputation. Organizations need to rethink how they factor in maintaining a PCI-compliant environment, whether it's devoting more resources or working with a managed security services provider."

Creating Enterprise Data and Mobility Security

February 5th, 2014By: Bill Kleyman

As more enterprise users are taking advantage of mobile devices, there’s a growing and important need for mobility security.

More end-users are bringing in their own devices into the corporate setting to get their jobs done. In fact, some users are now utilizing three or more devices, all of which may have access to corporate data.

Furthermore, the numbers around just how much data is being passed through these devices really paints the picture. According to the latest Cisco Visual Networking Index, “The increasing number of wireless devices that are accessing mobile networks worldwide is one of the primary contributors to traffic growth. Each year, several new devices in different form factors, and increased capabilities and intelligence, are being introduced in the market. By 2017, there will be 8.6 billion hand-held or personal mobile-ready devices and 1.7 billion machine-to-machine connections.”

A growing number of wireless devices, including smartphones, tablets and laptops, are accessing mobile networks worldwide.

There are some inherent benefits to creating corporate mobility – productivity, worker happiness, less end-point management – but there are also many concerns. IT administrators are already responsible for many devices on their network. Now, there’s the potential that they have to monitor and manage even more.

The most efficient way to approach mobility is to have a well-planned out deployment with good policies in place. Without a doubt, one of the first planning points will revolve around security and how to best manage it with so many devices being brought in.

Here’s the first mind-shift that has to happen. Instead of trying to control the device – you should care more about the applications, workloads, data and experience being delivered to the device. This way you create an optimal delivery methodology which is truly agnostic to the device itself. Still, security must be wrapped into these policies and around the workloads that are being delivered. To that extent – here are some great ways to create mobility and data security.

• Use Enterprise/Mobility Management Platforms. The rise of the mobility revolution meant that there had to be a technology that would help administrators manage both devices and the data flowing through them more efficiently. Working with these management platforms can have a lot of benefits for organizations allowing personal devices to connect to internal network components. Scanning for things like rooter or hacked devices and stopping access from malicious software are all MDM/EDM features. Furthermore, administrators can leverage granular control mechanisms to have better visibility and manageability of end-point devices. If a device is lost or stolen, administrators have the option to wipe only corporate data or the entire device remotely. Finally, these platforms can directly optimize how applications and other content is delivered to the user – by creating adaptive orchestration policies.
• Lock down applications and workloads. A large part of the mobility and data control environment resides with various virtualization technologies. In creating a good mobility security policy, administrators have to find ways to lock down their applications, various data points and even desktops. By usingnext-generation technologies, administrators can limit access to all or even part of an application or workload. Above and beyond just controlling how the end-point accesses the environment, user and data controls should be deployed to better manage mobility-enabled devices.
• Deploy next-generation security. Enterprise security has come a long way. Physical firewalls are no longer the end-all security solutions. Now, administrators can deploy specific security processes on dedicated virtual or physical devices. In working with next-generation security products, administrators are able to really lock down the access into their network.

For an enterprise mobility initiative, next-gen security can help with some of the following tasks:

• End-point device interrogation.
• Access based on the device, location, and user.
• Using application firewalls.
• Deploying virtual appliances as secondary checkpoints or isolated controllers for end-user personal devices.
• Deploying adaptive two-factor authentication methods driven by secure certificates.
• Data access monitoring.
• Data Leakage Prevention (DLP), Intrusion Prevention/Detection Services (IPS/IDS)

The term “next-generation” security really focuses on the new types of IT initiatives currently being deploying by many organizations. A part of that includes mobility, device, and data management. Terminology aside, if you’ve purchased a network access controller, security appliance, or some type of gateway technology – chances are that your device has some next-generation security features already built-in. Use your appliances – both virtual and physical – to their fullest capabilities to deliver a truly powerful computing experience.

Create Mobility and Data Usage Policies

An organization may have the best infrastructure in place for mobility; however, an uninformed user can still be a very dangerous asset to have to manage. User empowerment and education has come a long way in the IT field and many are much savvier than they are given credit for. In light of this, their usage of corporate data on personal devices may actually make them (accidentally, in most cases) more dangerous. First of all, there needs to be a corporate mobility policy in place. In many instances, this is an extension of the existing computer usage policy. Users must know that although the devices they are using are be personal, the data they are viewing is still corporate-owned. Because of this, their data usage or even working session may be monitored and controlled. Although visibility into the personal device will be limited by privacy regulations – all data accessed from the central data center may be monitored and user activity logged.

Creating a happier worker can have many different benefits. However, security and integrity of corporate data must be one of the top priorities. The beauty of today’s security technologies is that administrators are able to still deliver a powerful computing experience while locking down their infrastructure. When working with modern mobility trends, the main rule is simple: never allow a free-for-all to occur.

Although many devices may be allowed – IT administrators should still limit the types of devices they allow on their network. In many cases, to access corporate data, the end-user may need to install some client software. To ease management, IT should supply a hardware list which is capable of supporting the client on various end-point platforms. In doing so, the user can still bring in their own devices, access the data, and IT will be able to secure and control the experience.