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16/07/2012

IDG Connect Dan Swinhoe (Middle East)- BYOD is Coming

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Dan Swinhoe (Middle East)- BYOD is Coming


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What you're Saying Amy Lee (Asia) - Software Piracy in China and Hong Kong
looks like this article is sponsored or "promoted"b y b ig companies. in this article therei s no reliab les source or independent opinion or facts.... Bring-Your-Own-Device [BYOD] is coming. It's b ecome a generally accepted truth that the workplace is b ecoming b oth more mob ile and more personal as swathes of workers b ring in their own smartphones, laptops and tab lets to do the day's work from. The average IT stack, or the numb er of devices per person, looks to rise from the current 2.8 average to 3.3 in 2014. The Middle East is no exception, with the region gladly accepting that mob ility is the way forward. BYOD Is Coming This handy infographic shows how the Middle East has one of the b est relationships with BYOD of any region in the world. While the EMEA average for allowing some form of BYOD is around 69%, for the Middle East that figure rises to a massive 80%. However, a different study from Network Middle East claims that 37% of organizations were firmly against BYOD. Unsurprisingly, Apple is most popular for b oth phone and tab let, with Samsung following and Android looking to gain ground in the near future. Apple's relatively few models make it easy to support, while the various range of Android makes and models mean making sure everything works across the b oard can make it difficult and time consuming . Yet despite all this eagerness, only 22% of b usinesses have more than of employees actually b ringing their own devices (the ones that do generally own a larger stack of three or more), though this figure is expected to rise three-fold b y 2016. According to a study b y Spiceworks, SMB s' b udgets are on the rise, in part due to a rise in purchasing of tab lets and smartphones. But it also showed some interesting statistics ab out how they approach BYOD. Currently, some 75% of SMBs currently help manage and support employees' personal devices b ring in the workplace, with 60% of respondents supporting iPhones, 55% supporting Android phones, and 41% supporting iPads. Despite these surprisingly high numb ers, actual opinion on them varies far more. Only 20% of SMB IT professionals fully emb race the trend as the future, 35% think that it works well for some devices b ut not all, 25% say it's a headache for their IT department, while the remaining 20% remain undecided. Pros & Cons The various advantages of BYOD have b een advertised b y vendors and other b loggers, so here's a quick overview of what it can b ring to your organization: Follow idgconnect on Twitter Glob al: Improving customer service with technology http://t.co/Xad0uq9M Glob al: Why CMOs and CMOs need a shared agenda http://t.co/oGegCnTc Asia: The impact of software #piracy in #China and #HongKong http://t.co/Z5IwL56b
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07-11-2012

Matthew Prince (US) - 2012: The Road Ahead (Part 2)


What a heavenly picture you made. I can see it with your mob ile travelling true the b ig country roads. That picture on the left it looks like heaven... Best Android Smartphone View all comments 07-03-2012

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Glob al: How technology is shaping the future of work http://t.co/03AJwkiG

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16/07/2012
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IDG Connect Dan Swinhoe (Middle East)- BYOD is Coming


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Unless you're b uying your workers ' personal devices for them (more on that later), there is plenty of money to b e saved from not b uying various devices. Ob viously, some types of work require a fixed workstation b ut it is possib le to do away with large swathes of infrastructure and associated costs. -Increased worker satisfaction Staff who work from their own personal devices are generally happier than their none BYOD counterparts. This satisfaction leads to increased motivation and ultimately greater efficiency, as happy workers are generally b etter workers. -Attracts talent BYOD is more popular among the younger workers, and the real talent will b e attracted to the companies that allow them the freedom to work how they want to. While there's no need to force the older workers to ab andon their workstations if they don't want to, not giving people the option will cause you to suffer in the long run. People Power Of course with every emerging trend or technology that deals away with old prob lems , new ones will inevitab ly arise. "In the UAE 56% view using their device at work as a right rather than a privilege and more than 1-in-3 employees would contravene a company's security policy that forb ids them to use their personal devices at work or for work purposes. 72% b elieve that they are ultimately responsib le for the security of their own personal device when used for work purposes, compared to 15% who b elieve that it is the responsib ility of the organisation" While those 56% may not b e in the right, it highlights the b iggest prob lem in BYOD, and that is people. Some companies are legitimately worried ab out security, b oth from b reaches and losses. Laptops and mob iles lost or stolen are constant headaches for companies, causing at b est emb arrassment b ut more often large amounts of money and a severely damaged reputation. The rise of mob ile attacks, from infected apps to general poor security on devices also poses a risk to companies. Developing in-house apps allows them to b e tested and secure, b ut the more time, money and effort put into apps the less financial incentive there is to b egin with. Investment into Wireless Networks (WLAN) is also expected to grow in the next few years to deal with the b oom in devices eating up wireless data. There are some more personal issues to deal with. Some companies are very happy to let their workers b uy their own devices, b ut there is a sizeab le amount who are willing to provide devices for their staff in order to help maintain continuity and in turn help security and reduce issues with applications and software. There is a more personal prob lem associated with BYOD. Having your workspace in your pocket or constantly within arm's reach creates an Always On' culture that b reeds workaholics. While that might sound great for productivity, it can ruin your workers. The need to always answer just one more email or phone that Australian client puts them under enormous pressure and stress; it can affect their personal lives, and relationships, from lack of sleep and disrupting eating hab its to sacrificing family time and events. Stressed, tired and unhappy workers create low quality work. Sometimes the signs can b e difficult to spot, b ut keeping the work environment a happy one is a good place to start. The general consensus is BYOD is coming, whether you want it or not. Even if you set a strict NO' policy, chances are staff will end up doing it in secret , causing no end of prob lems for your b usiness, or you may repel the b est and b rightest in the first place. While it might not b e the easiest thing in the short-term, emb racing BYOD is almost an inevitab ility, and the b est thing for any b usiness who hasn't joined the revolution is to do so as soon as they can, and for those already on the b andwagon to make sure rules are in place and the b oth the security and technical side of things are water-tight.

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