Issue link: https://epubs.iltanet.org/i/58400
www.iltanet.org software, but use them to connect to an Internet-visible service while traveling and the myriad issues experienced by the amateur user are such that only the dedicated stick with it on a regular basis. Fast forward to today with you holding an iPad (or indeed any one of the devices appearing almost daily in the consumer space) in your hand, and ease of use has come to be regarded as a given. Instant-on means your email messages are there (the fact that what you can do with them is limited seems to not create a frisson of concern). From the comfort of your sofa you can browse the Internet, view and purchase products and services, listen to music or watch a movie, and maybe even play Angry Birds — all that without the angst of having to make the connection work. So against the utopia of the corporate agnosticism in relation to the user device, why are most organizations unsettled about employees bringing their own devices (regardless of whether it is self-funded or part of a flexible benefits package)? It is tempting to answer that question with the issues surrounding security — which are currently the focus and fear of all corporate IT teams. Data loss, data leakage and accidental or malicious data theft are the middle-of-the- night worries for CIOs worldwide. Of course, this is a real concern — but there are ways of managing or mitigating the risk. Virtualization creates ample opportunity to limit the amount of information a user is able to access on any device. And consider whether the device is personal rather than corporate — might the user take greater care of it and be less likely to lose it? Here, fear, uncertainty and doubt can be a block on more flexible office technology. If the IT team loses control of device selection, if the clean corporate network suddenly becomes a dirty corporate network, then does the "complex and difficult" environment of corporate IT become straightforward — and are CIOs and their teams therefore seeing forced change which they did not originate affecting them? Frightening stuff — almost like being a user when corporate systems are upgraded. The difficulty here for many IT teams is that we are now managing the unknown — and it is unknown in such 28 ILTA White Paper a wide variety of ways that its unsurprising adoption has been less speedy than you might have imagined — although be aware, it is happening. The users have embraced the device variety because for the first time they feel they are in charge. So it behooves the IT team to embrace these changes as well — still mindful of their responsibility for a secure computing environment. Consumerization and virtualization are irrevocably linked — and will become a dominant corporate IT issue. The winners should be everyone — corporate with its data still held in controlled ivory towers, the user happily skipping along the road with a device they like (even if they have to work hard to make it do everything they want) and the IT teams — who are still the custodians of good, valid data and the ever-increasing demand for accessibility. IT teams still have the responsibility of providing and maintaining all the systems — they provide the bubble of access to the corporate information tools that users need. Ignoring the changes in this market sector would be akin to sitting with Canute facing the waves and hoping that the tide is a myth — it did not work for Canute, and it will not work for IT teams. We should therefore move on and make this change work better for all. Beware, this is the beginning of a period of change — there is much more to come. This article first appeared in Legal Week.