Decentralizing IT—Phenomena BYOD—Bring Your Own Device
In Part One of “The benefits of decentralizing IT, going Paperless and a mobile-equipped work force,” we covered the changing role of the IT department. In this new hybrid organization, the software choice-- or the “what”—is in the hands of those who manage departments such as finance, accounting and HR. However, it is important that security—the “how” and “where”—remains controlled by IT.
With the use of personal devices at work on the rise, the decentralization will impact those who use their personal devices at work, those who sell solutions to enterprises and those in the C-suite who are responsible for the accountability and planning for the organization.
Individual departments are now able to determine which cloud-based solutions they need. With this emerging trend, solution vendors who once sold exclusively to IT personnel now find themselves selling to a broader range of customers. The process of determining the solution and the needs the solution must meet are delegated to particular departments, but it remains in the hands of IT to determine whether the solutions are safe, functional and meet the company’s protocol. The question for IT becomes, “Does this solution pass the test from a technical standpoint?”
With the use of mobile devices and the use of the cloud merging, companies are faced with the bring-your-own-device (BYOD) phenomenon. The younger generation of employees is accustomed to using their own personal devices for most of their daily activities.
The BYOD landscape is rapidly changing and evolving. Face-to-face communication, landline phones and even desktops are becoming things of the past. In 2014 alone, smartphone sales have doubled and are expected to surpass PC sales. It is expected that, by 2016, active mobile devices will reach more than 10 billion worldwide.
BYOD in the Decentralized IT Environment
The decentralization of IT both benefits and complicates the BYOD phenomenon. It is up to IT to decide how much freedom on personal mobile devices employees are permitted before security, performance and technological issues arise. It is vital that IT establish corporate goals and technology platforms that are understood by all employees.
Employees and companies can both benefit from mobile technologies that use the Internet and the cloud. Rather than using a random download that could corrupt the company’s network, workers who select and use solutions that they prefer will be encouraged to use the company’s cloud. With all of the handheld devices connecting to the same cloud-hosted solution that other devices in the department use, consistency can emerge from the chaos of BYOD.
The C-suite will also see subtle changes, but the impact will be great. With everything about the company’s performance and their customer base easily accessible on the cloud, the CEO, CFO, CMO and other officers need to begin making decisions based on data. Data derived in real-time on the cloud can be delivered more rapidly than ever before. Today’s C-suite executive must be able to manage that data, just like they manage employees. The science of data analysis becomes exponentially more important.
Consequently, managers, executives and representatives can no longer plead ignorance when confronted by reporters or subpoenas. With the cloud and a departmental-focused structure, the company’s leaders have unlimited access to all of the organization’s information at their fingertips. Because of this, IT decentralization gives more power and responsibility to the rest of the organization. Employees must be able to understand data, know how to extract meaningful information and deliver it intelligibly.
As the famous saying goes, “With great power comes great responsibility.” As more mobile devices go into more hands, it is important to understand the ever-changing role of IT.
In the final installment of “The benefits of decentralizing IT: Going paperless and a mobile-equipped work force,” we will review the final piece of the puzzle; the benefits of eliminating paper documents completely from your organization.
Nick Sprau is vice president of marketing and sales for Metafile Information Systems Inc., an independent provider of paperless document management applications serving middle-market and large businesses. For more information, visit www.metaviewer.com.
by MetaViewer