The quarterly publication of the International Legal Technology Association
Issue link: https://epubs.iltanet.org/i/4983
www.iltanet.org 24 Peer to Peer many firms would be shocked to learn the total number and different types of smartphones accessing proprietary information. More importantly, these devices typically reside outside IT visibility or control. Smartphones are the new laptops and need to be treated as the mini-computers that they are. The first step IT should take as part of any mobile user management strategy is to certify that all mobile platforms under consideration meet minimum standards for device security and policy compliance; making sure that they also include native security support or that a third-party security solution is available. Once certified, IT needs to have real-time visibility into every activated smartphone on that platform to ensure they are authorized and policy-compliant. The risk of proprietary firm and client information being misappropriated due to a failure to lock down rogue, lost, stolen or noncompliant smartphones is simply too large to ignore. Best practices for smartphone management should also include comprehensive solutions for solving service issues. When issues strike, mobile user management tools should alert upper level engineering and operations staff to the primary root cause, provide the appropriate fix and enable the fix in as few clicks as possible. For issues that cannot be solved immediately, these tools should include advanced analytics and trending to help troubleshoot and isolate chronic problems. These tools need to enable lower-level helpdesk staff, and even the end users themselves, to quickly resolve most service issues. Advanced tools can even prevent issues from occurring in the first place. Giving attorneys and executives the ability to monitor the health of their devices and troubleshoot their own problems goes a long way in empowering mobile user time productivity. Firms cannot let growing smartphone diversity jeopardize their financial well-being. They should take time to certify which mobile platforms make sense for them; document and control all enterprise-connected mobile devices, making sure they are authorized and policy compliant; and then institute a tiered support model. ILTA — brian Reed, cMo, boxtone If you're interested in directing a question to the vendor community, submit your ideas to editor@iltanet.org. ASK THE VEndOR