Sponsored feature: On balance, add value

Consumer devices add value to a business, so the channel must help customers to manage and secure them in line with current threats

Weighing risk against value is crucial for firms in technology buying decisions, not least when the aim is to secure mobile devices increasingly being introduced to the network.

CRN's reader survey, sponsored by Eset, underlined that customer education is the tactic most likely to assist the ongoing quest for sales in this area.

One question was whether respondents' customers had actually deployed any security technologies - or security technology features - to combat perceived or actual risks involved in the introduction of personal mobile devices to the workplace.

Not many had, according to the poll. A surprising 15.5 per cent said none of their customers had done so; less than one per cent said all their customers had done so.

Another 15 per cent reported that only a few of their customers had deployed such technology. The good news, of course, is that this rather patchy implementation landscape leaves plenty of scope for VAR involvement in education and sales strategy.

The survey also asked how many customer organisations intended to deploy such security technologies. No time frame was given - but, even so, less than one per cent of respondents said their customers had no intention of deploying such security tech.

Fifty-six per cent said some customers aimed to deploy IT to sort out the mobile device risk. Two per cent said all their customers intended to do so.

Similarly, asked whether their customers are, to their knowledge, developing strategies for personal mobile device risk, a few said they all were, and a few said none were. Most confirmed that some customers are currently taking a proactive approach to the consumerisation risk, although others are not.

It is always difficult to accurately assess future intentions, whether of companies or individuals. However, the poll appears to reflect a diverse landscape of the potential for deployment of such technologies.

Could this be because the market remains insufficiently (or improperly) educated about the risk, or the chance of technology mitigating that risk?

Finally, the poll attempted to delve into the reasons for this variety of views on consumer mobile device security. A significant minority of respondents maintained that the security risks are actually minimal, or at least well controlled with the right policies and technologies.

Other respondents underlined the heightened risk of data loss, theft or misuse as a result of unsecured or under-secured personal mobile devices - including iPads and iPhones - being used in the workplace alongside other devices on the organisational network. Uploading data, noted one, can also be a problem.

"People are often the weak link," added another.

One confirmed: "There are products on the market that provide what customers want without putting unnecessary hurdles in front of the end user."

However, that respondent went on to add: "It is sad that some security companies perceive this [issue] as a potential gold mine, when the offerings are very secondary to the value that tablets and mobiles provide."

There is the crux of the matter: many users believe the risks are real, but others feel they are being overplayed.

However, most users also believe that the benefits of introducing such personal mobile devices into the workplace outweigh the risks. The benefits go well beyond simply making staff feel comfortable and "empowered" at work - so it is not simply a matter of blocking these devices.

Connectivity can enhance the overall ability to share information across a business, increase organisational agility, the ability to serve customers, and make savings that boost the bottom line.

One of the poll's final questions concerned the best ways of protecting against consumer device threats. Almost half of the respondents said that security software, hardware or services were key, and another third (33 per cent) put training and education as top priority (see chart, left).

Organisations must be kept abreast of the threat landscape and alter their approach as required. Channel-vendor relationships remain the key to customer benefit from consumerisation, now and into the future.

■ This is the fourth and final feature in this Eset-sponsored series on personal mobile device security in the workplace. See the last three issues of CRN for parts 1, 2 and 3.