The report, entitled The Device Dilemma, reveals that 28% of enterprises have already experienced security breaches due to employees bringing unauthorised devices into the workplace. Altogether, 44% of respondents - IT decision makers at large companies in the US and UK - said they would allow users to choose their own devices if they could be assured of security and configuration.
Aiming to meet these demands, Good Technology announced that the company’s Good for Enterprise solution will support an expanded set of mobile devices including the Apple iPhone, Palm Pre, and multiple Android devices.
“The iPhone has changed the game in the enterprise,” said Brian A. Bogosian, chairman, CEO and president of Good Technology. “IT managers want to give employees the freedom to use the newest, most capable devices, but until now security and manageability challenges have made that problematic. Because Good for Enterprise has the ability to support any mobile platform, companies can now support these new devices using the same mobile management and security solution that Good is already providing to the Department of Defense, the Department of Homeland Security and a high concentration of the world’s largest enterprises.”
The survey demonstrates that the demand for new types of mobile devices in the enterprise is higher than ever before. Nearly 80% of companies reported an increase in the number of employees wanting to bring their own devices into the workplace in the last 6 to12 months, including iPhone, Palm Pre and devices based on Android, Windows Mobile, and Symbian.
The iPhone is the hottest device, with 82% of respondents in the US and UK getting requests for iPhone support. Until now, companies who have given in to those demands have been faced with manually configuring devices one at a time.
Said Philippe Winthrop, research director at Strategy Analytics: “Enterprises have been reluctant to embrace the newest mobile devices because of concerns about security, not to mention the increased management burdens that the new devices would place on already strapped IT departments. The good news is that, with strong cross platform mobility management solutions, companies can take a proactive approach to supporting these new devices, meet their security and control needs while significantly increasing employee productivity and reducing costs as a result.”