Welcome!  We’re glad you found us.

At Skyworks Canada we provide information on cloud computing and virtualization for business executives.  If you can install ESXi or configure a SAN then this probably isn’t the place for you.  Information here is not intended to get technical.  It’s designed to be informative using as much business language as possible without getting into the bits and bytes.  If you’re an executive looking to understand current cloud trends in the IT industry and want to be able to carry on intelligent conversations with your technical staff then this is the place for you.

If you like the information here then come back and/or post comments.  If we weren’t clear then let us know and will do our best to demystify the “cloud”.  Our challenge is to take leading edge technology and put it in a format that we can all comprehend.

Sometimes bringing information like this “up a level” causes hardcore techie’s to point out hairsplitting differences in opinion as we’re sure will happen.  There’s much industry jargon and cloud and virtualization technology is rapidly maturing.  No worry as it’s our job to keep you informed and keep it all at a business level.  We’ll also feature leaders in the industry both as references and links in our articles so that you can follow them to explore further.

We hope you enjoy our site and find it of value.  Feel free to share this site with your peers and colleagues.  We’re here to help you navigate through the marketing jargon and find the reality that can help enable your business to take advantage of these powerful technologies.

Ever need to print to your office or home printer but you’re either:

1. Not in you home or office

2. In your home/office but the device (or virtual server/desktop) does have direct network access to your printer

3, The device you’re using doesn’t have the correct print driver for your home/office printer?

4. The thing you want to print is on an I-Pad, I-Phone, Android device or other smart phone?

While not strictly speaking a cloud service, there are two recent printing technologies that offer solutions to the above.

The first is HP’s ePrint service.  It’s available on most new HP printers (Laserjet, Inkjet, …).  Look for the HP ePrint on the box.  The concept is simple yet incredibly effective.  Part of the registration/setup process involves the creation of an email address hosted on an HP server in the cloud.  Open any email program, attach any document you want to print (e.g. MSWord, PowerPoint, PDF, …) and email it to this new email address.  In short order it shows up on your home or office printer!  You can print from any device with email and connected to the Internet.  No cables or device drivers required.  Slick!

Of course for Apple devices like I-Pads, I-Phones, Macs and I-Pods you can purchase a printer that supports Apple AirPrint.  If AirPrint enabled any Apple device will automatically see this printer (if on the same network) and print to it with ease.  No device drivers or cables required.

Better yet, some printer manufactures include support for both HP ePrint and Apple AirPrint (HP).  Then the choice of printing method is yours.  Just check the box or specifications before purchase.  Printing has never been easier.

Physical Media Fun

Let’s have some fun (this is going to test your age):

• When is the last time you used a 3 ½ inch floppy disk? (Can you even find one?)
• What about a Zip or Jaz drive? (you’re starting to show your age)
• What about a 5 ¼ inch floppy disk? (definitely middle aged)
• Vinyl records (maybe you’re a collector?)
• 8” floppy disk? (wow)
• 8 track tapes? (your Dad’s, Dad’s favorite)
• Paper tape? (If you’ve even seen this then you’ve really been around this planet for awhile!)

Now, what about more current physical media:

• CDs?  IF you still use these you’re amongst the few these days.  Everything has moved to digital downloads.
• DVDs? Sure you can still buy DVDs at most bargain stores.  They’re cheap for pumping out movies to the retail market.  Otherwise, like most of us, you’ve taken the next step and download your movies on demand.
• Backup hard drives?  Some use this as their standard for backing up their computer.  External drives are cheap and fast but still susceptible to damage and loss.
• 
• Backup tapes? Your organization probably has a tape backup solution.  Just cross your fingers the tapes haven’t gone bad and your restore procedures work.  (You’d be surprised at how many tape backups actually aren’t restorable)
• Memory sticks? Most IT savvy people have one or two kicking around in their computer bag – just in case.  Funny thing is they’re seeing less of a need for these over time – even as the prices for memory sticks have gotten so cheap that many vendors give them away for free.

Where does the cloud factor into this?

The impact on physical media is being felt like never before.  I’ll classify the use of physical media into two camps.  The first is for the sharing of your information with others.  The second is to make a copy for backup and protection.  Let’s go through the first camp (sharing) and see what’s going on with current cloud technology.

Cloud Information Sharing

The options for sharing information (files, pictures, movies, …) have now reached the point where it’s a choice of the most appropriate means.  For the sharing of pictures and movies there are many free picture sharing sites like imgur.com and flickr.com.  The same goes for video clips (Youtube, Vimeo, …).  Of course you can also use Social Networking to share your content with your network of friends and associates (Facebook, Linkedin, MySpace, …).  The old fall-back (still done occasionally by those over 30 yrs old) is an email with an embedded picture.  No one sticks pictures on a memory stick, DVD or CD anymore.  It’s probably the reason the sales of DVDs and CDs have moved to cheap Dollar Stores.

What to do then if your sharing needs are more general in nature and include a number of files in various file formats (MSWord, Excel, DB file, pictures, …)?  This falls into the area of cloud disk/file services.  Cloud disk/file services have been around for quite a few years but have recently grown in the number of services available and amount of space you can get for free.  They’re also reputable as they come from major vendors like Microsoft and Google.

Some of the more popular services available for free include Dropbox, Skydrive and Google Drive.   Why would anyone buy a memory stick (or CD/DVD), plug it into a computer, wait for a device driver to install, so that you can write files, “safely unplug you removable USB device” and physically deliver it to the intended recipient?  For free, anyone can create a file/drive account in the cloud and drag and drop all their files there for others to securely access.  It’s that easy (thus their popularity).  All the popular services also have a web-based interface so that files are fully accessible from any computer.  At this time of this article most free accounts start at 5GB (quite a bit of space) and can grow as needed.  Physical media is dead for this use.

These new services introduce a strong privacy and security concern for organizations.  With physical media someone had to physically attach or insert media in a computer to externally copy an organization’s information.  Larger organizations have strict security policies on the use of memory sticks and DVDs and often will not order desktop computers with DVD/CD drives.  In reality, security policies like this did little to stop personnel from using DVDs and memory sticks for information sharing.  At a minimum physical media made it an effort to do so.

With cloud file/disk services the same problem exists but like never before.  With a “drag and drop” of a mouse, 5GB or more of your organization’s files can be placed on the Internet cloud for anyone outside to see.  You have no direct control of the security put on these cloud services so you don’t know if there’s little or no security in place at all.  Some organizations have taken to block access to file/disk sharing sites (e.g Dropbox, Skydrive).  Problem is there are many services available and more coming.  It’s a tidal wave of new cloud-based services that few organizations know how to deal with.  If an organization doesn’t provide a secure, managed means of easily sharing files (both internally and externally) then personnel will select their own – and put your organization at risk.  Ignoring this change from physical media to cloud services will only exasperate the risk and keep it hidden from our IT Team.

Physical Media for Backup and Protection

This is a large subject area that has been rapidly changing in recent years.  Organizations with large information storage requirements (typically in a computer room or data centre) long-term tape backup is still the primary media of choice.  This is closely followed by disk itself being the preferred backup media for other disk.  Large storage arrays called Storage Area Networks (SANs) and Network Access Storage (NASs) not only have redundant disk so that one disk failure will not result in any information loss, they also use disk to disk copies for backups.  The $/GB cost of disk has gotten to be so incredibly cheap and fast it’s a great options for organizations that have medium to medium-large information requirements.  Bottom line is, in these spaces, tape and disk still reigns.

For smaller information storage requirements (few TBs) there are a number of cloud-based backup services.  Backing up to an external hard drive or DVD yourself seems cheap.  The problem is you need to do it and not forget.  You also need to ensure the backup is taken off-site so that it’s safe in the event of a fire or theft.  You also need to ensure it worked properly, can be restored, and is there when you need it.  So while it may seem like a cheap way to go, it involves your time (or staff’s) and some risk.

Cloud-based backup services work automatically so you don’t need to.  They immediately put your information off-site into the cloud so you’re safe from fire or theft.  Prices have also come way down in recent years.

For media files like your music and videos, companies like Apple have already introduced services like iCloud that (if turned on) do this automatically for you.  You can lose your I-Pad or Mac and all your files are restored from iCloud when you set up a new device.  Pretty cool.  It also makes those same media files available to all your other Apple devices like your I-Phone or AppleTV.  It’s a great service.  Apple gets the cloud.

As you can see, files (all types) are now in the realm of the cloud.  You’re almost certainly doing it today and may not realize it.  If you’re not using services like Dropbox, Skydrive, GoogleDrive or others then you’re missing the boat.  Once you start using them you’ll wonder how you did without them.  You’ll also notice your use of all other types of physical media disappear.

Software running in the cloud (otherwise known as Software as a Service – SaaS) provides an organization with rapid and cost effective access to applications.  These applications are typically made accessible via some secure means (e.g. HTTPS or VPN) over the Internet.  Someone else (the software vendor) takes on all the headaches associated with hardware, protecting your information, upgrades, etc.  Hopefully they’re doing a good job but for my organization’s important informational assets I check and ensure upgrades, backups, security and privacy are in my service agreement contract with that software vendor.

Now that you’ve finished your background checks and other due diligence you sign the software agreement and start creating user accounts, roles and using the new software.  Through the process of using your new system it gains information (your organization’s valuable information) that’s also useful elsewhere.

Traditional information systems software applications were purchased or written and ran from within the organization.  it was and is rare for any internally running software application to be an island of information. Instead software developers built interfaces between systems so that useful information like customer info could be shared.  Without these interfaces systems might contain different versions of the truth. A simple example might be a financial system having one customer name and address when a marketing system might have a different or old address.  Because systems frequently want the same information as other systems, software developers end up building many interfaces, connecting between systems.  Having one or more of your software systems “in the cloud” doesn’t get away from this need.

You’ve started entering valuable information into your new cloud software and realize it would also be VERY useful in another of your systems (or even worse, another cloud software service).  How do you extract this information? Only the information you require, in the format required, as required, into your current systems?  Can it be done at all?  Can it be done securely? On demand?  If not, you’re hooped.

Understanding what information you’ll be placing in the cloud and what you need to extract to your other systems (now and in the future) are important checks to make BEFORE selecting your cloud software service.  Also consider the consequences of selecting one cloud software service, using it for some period of time where all sorts of important information is entered and then realizing its not the right service for your organization.  What then?  What if there is little or no means to extract all your information so that it can be reloaded into something else?  What if the old service is terminated only to later realize something critical was left behind?

The lesson is this: Ensure you have full access to all YOUR information BEFORE you enter into a cloud software service agreement.  Then also make sure your IT staff know how to securely access it when needed. You may also want to have some language in your software agreement that requires the software vendor to keep a backup copy of your data around for at least a year or more after any potential service termination. Also ensure it’s accessible to your organization for the asking.

With time most of any software your organization might need will be available as a cloud service.  Today there is already a rich set of mature software as a service (SaaS) areas that should get your serious attention if you plan to acquire a new software solution.

The list of cloud software as a service is long and growing rapidly, not just in length but in the robustness of offerings. In some areas the cloud equivalent of a self installed software package is often richer in features and certainly less maintenance.

So with the cloud software market growing what SaaS areas comprise the very mature and be on your list for evaluation?  Here’s a partial list of SaaS areas:

File Backup in the Cloud

Seems like backing up changed files to a safe place on the Internet is a no-brainier, right?  Yet it’s not as popular as one might expect. At an individual level most users just don’t think about backups until they have a hard drive crash or a malicious virus.  Personal computer cloud backup solutions have been around for some time despite their lack of popularity.  There aren’t however cloud-based backup solutions that work well on an enterprise level.

An exception to this is file-level backups of cloud servers.  Vendors selling cloud servers protect your information through disk technology called RAIDing. This protects from a disk failure but not if one or files are corrupted or deleted.  For this you need file-level backups which some (not all) cloud server vendors offer at an additional cost.

Bookkeeping 

The number of bookkeeping software services grew in 2012.  There are now quite a few to choose from including from popular brand names like Intuit.  If you have a small to medium sized organization it’s definitely worth looking into.  It’s particularly true if you require payroll processing which tends to need regular updates.

Storage and File Sharing

Disk and file storage are very mature cloud services.  They’re not However the right service for every organizations’s needs.  Please refer to our previous article on cloud storage for additional information on cloud storage types and their applicable uses.

A note on file sharing: With no Internet-wide security authentication and access standard, each storage service vendor has developed their own way of securing access to files.  Sharing files usually means emailing a link to a file location or creating a new user account for access.  New accounts are usually verified by email.  While this is usually “good enough” for sharing your family pictures we suggest your organization put controls around using this technique for sharing customer information or financials like Visa numbers.

Email and Calendaring

These are very mature services (think about services like Google Apps and Microsoft 365). Others are available though these should be in your first list to evaluate.  These type of services can also have trouble scaling to the size needed for large organizations (many email accounts). Refer to our article on cloud email and calendaring services for more information.

Finance 

Years back major financial software applications started coming out as a service.  Notable were SAP and Oracle Financials.  These two sell applications that were initially targeted at large organizations.  Other financial apps (GLs, AP, AR, …) are also available from other software vendors that are designed specifically for smaller organizations.

Document Management

Document Management (DM) in the cloud comes in a few forms just as DM is a broad range of capabilities and features.  DM in the cloud can be as simple (yet well featured) as Google Docs to cloud-based Sharepoint sites to very full (and pricey) DM services.  When evaluating your own DM requirements be sure to include security, data protection and access requirements.

Video Conferencing

The last two years have been great for video conferencing as a service.  It the past an organization needed expensive equipment to share video from multiple locations with each other.  Now cloud-based services are popping up all over where a PC with a low cost HD camera can connect to others users or location.  Often services include the ability to share/view documents at the same time and even record sessions for later sharing or review. This is truly powerful stuff and can empower disparate teams to communicate and share better.  If you looked at video conferencing longer than the past two years you may have been put off by the cost.  Today prices have dramatically lowered and continue.  Also, since services are in the cloud you can start small (2 to 3 locations or users) and grow as needed.

Expense Tracking and Management

New apps are available for tracking and managing your expenses.  Managing expenses has always been time consuming and a headache for everyone.  Missing expenses means lost business or personal savings. Google around for the different offerings as more are showing up all the time.

Customer Relationship Management (CRMs)

CRMs have been around for for a long time even as as software service. CRM vendors like Salesforce.com were among some of the first to bring the visibility of software as a service to organizations. Now they’re incredibly full featured and powerful services.  CRM as a service is available from many vendors and varies in the way they work such that some are better for some business areas vs. others.  Salesforce.com is particularly good for Sales groups.

Enterprise Resource Planning Systems (ERPs)

ERPs use to be (and still are) BIG software applications that require big computers and include one or more functional modules (e.g. Financials, Human Resources, Materials Management, Supply and Distribution – it’s a large list).  The big industry leaders in ERPs are SAP, Oracle and Microsoft while there are other smaller and less costly ERP services out there.  The big vendors all saw cloud services coming and awhile back and started offering their apps as a service.  This helped with the management costs associated with running big software and enabled smaller organizations to access these powerful apps as an incremental service based on their organization’s need.  it also allowed them acquire more features and service licenses as they grow.

Web Hosting

Okay you say, nothing new here – move on.  Most would.  However if you haven’t experienced the new breed of cloud server hosting sites that also provide scripts to build an entire WordPress website complete with pretty much any WordPress plug-in and tools then you’re missing out.  These are also WordPress templates sellers that can help you build a professional and powerful site in a few hours.  This website (skyworks.ca) is an example of this power.  No programming was used to create this site and only a subset of its features were turned on.  It also includes cloud-based advertising from Google that was incredibly easy to turn on.  It runs on a cloud virtual server from Hostgattor and uses a fantastic and cost-effective WordPress template from http://www.kriesi.at/

Database Services

These come in a few flavours. You can simply get a database for your organization’s use.  Database technologies like SQLServer, Oracle, MySQL and others are available.  Often your cloud server vendor also sells database as a service as it’s a natural fit with your cloud computing. Prices vary depending on size, technology, availability commitment, performance,…  Databases require special management and backup protection so make sure you understand how this is done by your vendor.

Database administration is also sold as a service where qualified database experts (you hope) ensure your database is protected from corruption, upgraded, backed up and regularly tuned.

E-Commerce Services

Pretty much no one builds their own e-commerce website from scratch anymore.  Credit card processing, shopping cart services and more are widely available and easy to plug-in to any website (e.g. WordPress site). If your organization needs an online shopping site for your customers, look to cloud-based services first as it can be costly and difficult to build your own.

Virtual Desktops are very cool and leading edge technology.  Having your desktop computer “in the cloud” where it can be accessed from anywhere with all your valuable information protected sounds great but there are a few considerations. The following lessons were taken from a recent virtual desktop rollout:

Cookies and Temporary Files

Virtual desktops are really running on a server out of some data centre. They are created as a pool of desktops and handed out as needed for users to log into.  Once a user is done with a desktop it is “cleaned out” and returned to the pool for another user to use.

The problem comes from those files that are temporary in nature like temporary web browser files and cookies.  These can be lost between login sessions and can frustrate users.

Re-logins

Since virtual desktops are just a view, or window, to a desktop running out of a data centre, a stable network connection is needed. If a user is accessing their desktop from a mobile device and the network connection is temporarily lost they will need to login to their desktop again.  If this happens frequently (it does) users get frustrated with the service.

Virtual Desktop Timeouts

Virtual Desktops all run together on a data centre server and share common resources like CPU and memory.  Maximizing the utilization of server CPU and memory means having to clean up (shutdown) desktops that have been left running but not in use for some period of time.  Think of this as the equivalent of a laptop suspending itself when not in use or perhaps running out of battery.  The difference is the virtual desktop isn’t smart enough to save files and work before terminating.  The result is the potential to loose any work in progress if a user leaves their virtual desktop unattended for a long period of time.  Users need to learn to save their work often particularly if they plan to leave their desktop unattended.

Video and Collaboration Tools

As virtual desktops use a local software application to create a view into a desktop running in a data centre they sometimes struggle getting access and control of local devices like sound cards and USB devices.  Where is becomes important is for desktop applications like video conferencing where it wants to access a device’s camera but can’t. The network speed may also not support the speed required for video capture or playback making it unusable.

Printing

Printing from a virtual desktop can be a real problem.  Due to the nature of virtual desktops where they can be accessed from anywhere, it’s difficult to set up and make available the right printer at the right time.  The printer available for a desktop needs to change depending if a user is in the office, working from home or from another remote location.  Sometimes the desired printer will be locally attached to the local device or a network printer.  Virtual desktop technology is trying to handle this challenge with virtual print services but in practice it doesn’t work well.

The other challenge has to do with printer device drivers.  If a virtual desktop user wants to print to a new printer it won’t have Administrative access to have it installed.  Instead the driver must be installed (and tested) for all virtual desktop users by the VDI Administrator during a maintenance window.

Tablets

Tablets are a great option for accessing a virtual desktops while on the road.  However without a physical keyboard and mouse some users can find using their desktop on a tablet challenging.  A solid network connection is also a must so if possible include the latest mobile network technology (e.g. 4G/LTE from your mobile telecom service provider).

Despite the above, most virtual desktop users find this new service empowering.  They particularly like how it’s accessible from most anywhere and their information will never be lost.

 VDI is coming.  In many respects its been here for some time. What is VDI or Virtual Desktop Infrastructure?  Think of it as having your personal computer (desktop, laptop) but without the actual desktop/laptop hardware. Your desktop computer’s operating system (e.g. Windows XP, Windows 7), work files and desktop applications (e.g. MS Excel, Firefox, MS Outlook) are actually running somewhere out in the network (cloud) typically on large server computers shared  (virtually) with other users. As your desktop really only exists out on this shared computer server and is made available as a virtual desktop upon demand, the technology is referred to as Virtual Desktop Infrastructure. As a PC desktop user all you see and get is a window, a “thin client” view into your virtual desktop.  For all intents it works pretty much the same as a real computer desktop.  The mouse works the same, as does the keyboard, display and speakers. Pretty cool technology.

But, you say, I still need something to see the virtual desktop window on.  You’re right.  It may seem like a strange thing to do but one way is to see and use a virtual computer desktop on a desktop or laptop.  More typically, businesses are deploying devices called thin terminals.  These are hardware devices that connect to a PC monitor, network, keyboard and mouse and do little more than provide access to a virtual desktop. There’s no operating system to manage or moving parts to break (like a hard drive).  Another benefit is they can be shared between users.  As the actual virtual desktop is the only thing accessed through the thin terminal, any virtual desktop user can use it to access their personal virtual desktop, files and applications.  After they’re done another user can make use of the same thin terminal.  This makes the business practice of desk “hoteling” possible. This enables savings on the cost of desktop PCs, desks and workspace for employees as everything becomes a shared resource.  You only need to have enough desks and thin terminals for the maximum staff in the office at any point in time.

The other big benefit of virtual desktops is they can run on tablets and smartphones. As long as the tablet or mobile device has network access to the virtual desktop infrastructure, a user can bring up a virtual desktop window and access their files and applications. This is great for mobile users like Sales personnel.  Mobile devices use a finger pointer for a mouse and on-screen keyboard instead of a physical keyboard.  As long as the mobile device has solid and fast performing network access to the virtual desktop infrastructure the experience and usability should be good.

There are many other benefits associated with VDI.  These include:

• Lower desktop administration as all desktops are managed centrally.  This includes having them all backed up and upgraded together.
• Better utilization of hardware with the associated reduced cost as all desktops run virtually on shared computer servers.
• No lost or stollen files. If a tablet or other mobile device is lost or stollen it can be easily replaced. The user then accesses their desktop and files like before.  Nothing is lost.  Nothing to recover.
• Desktop or laptop hard drive fail?  No more lost files.  Limited downtime.  Just replace the hard drive or PC, access your VDI and you’re back in business. While waiting any other device can be used to access the same Virtual Desktop.
• Staff can now work from anywhere there is network access to your VDI.  This means they can have the ability to work from home or on the road.  As access is via a window to the virtual desktop, viruses are not transferred nor are corporate files left behind when done.

Like most technology there are also considerations and concerns when thinking about VDI.  These include:

• Making sure new virtual desktops include everything your staff need.  Typically staff with different roles have different desktop application requirements.  This means understanding what they need for applications and files and building unique desktop “images” for each.
• Security: How best to provide secure access to a Virtual Desktops?  Virtual Desktops can be accessed from many device types pretty much from anywhere there is network access. Thus, secure access becomes even more important.  Many businesses look at using smart cards along with user IDs and passwords.
• Network performance is very important when accessing and using a Virtual Desktop. If the network is slow then use will be very sluggish and awkward. If running over a wireless or cellular network and you temporarily loose connection then most likely the access to the Virtual Desktop will also be lost resulting in the need to access it again and signing in.
• I find Virtual Desktops to work reasonably well when accessing with a thin terminal device.  However when using a Virtual Desktop on a mobile device (like a tablet computer) the usability suffers due to the onscreen keyboard and the lower precision associated with using a finger pointer rather than a mouse.  Still, having the full power of your desktop computer with you on the road makes this an acceptable trade off.

Seeing is believing with VDI. Seeing your desktop magically appear on any thin terminal at the office while also having full use from home and even on the road via a laptop or tablet computer is pretty awesome.  Of course that’s only if VDI done right with the necessary network access  and security.  Having your files and applications anywhere and everywhere you go with no worry about loosing them or having them stollen helps solve one of the largest computing concerns for business.  Plan to see more of this technology from your IT department and from a growing number of cloud service providers on the Internet.

Your company or organization has a problem.  It’d be surprising and unusual if you didn’t given the state of mobile computing.  Your IT staff may be vaguely aware of the problem or actively be taking

steps to deal with it but either way it’s there and a growing concern. Allow me to describe the problem and the new cloud based solutions designed to get it under control.

Here are the factors leading to the problem:

1. The growth and proliferation of smart mobile devices (I-Phones, Android phones and tablets, I-Pads, …)
2. At one time smart devices were primarily business provided tools for employees.  We all know that’s changed.
3. The growth in the number of smart mobile devices has now grown beyond the number of personal computers – this continues to accelerate
4. Smart mobile devices are now commonplace as personal devices and yet they’re only about 1/6th of the total mobile devices out there – the rest are soon to follow.
5. Personally owned smart devices are now being used for both personal and business use.  They connect to your business network, access and retain email and business data and then connect to public and home Internet.
6. More personal smart devices are coming into your business everyday.  This trend will continue (per Gartner).
7. Mobile device misuse, lost and theft is common (over 70 million smart phones are lost every year)
8. How many of the mobile devices accessing your network and information are running Angry Birds, other mail programs or…virus/malware?
9. This is happening whether your business realizes it or not.

So then, what’s the risk to your business?  The obvious risks are:

• Unintentional access to your business network and corporate information by unauthorized personal devices
• Mobile devices accessing and taking away sensitive business information
• Mobile devices introducing threats into your business network through inappropriate applications they may have installed on their device
• Mobile device theft or loss resulting in your business information falling into unintended hands.  That same mobile device may be set up to provide access into your company’s network!
• The list of risks is extensive

Companies like Research in Motion (RIM) helped with this problem by providing special server software that could be used to lock down BlackBerry devices.  This software (BlackBerry Enterprise Server or BES) would restrict installed applications, control access to email and information.  If a corporate device were lost it could remotely wipe the device clean.  This was a great relief for companies and was/is commonly implemented.

Things have changed.  Apple and Android phones and tablets are eclipsing BlackBerry devices.  How many of your staff have an I-Phones or Android device?  How many of these are personally owned and totally uncontrolled?  It’s only getting worse as more of these devices are sold to consumers.  Then there are tablets.  Tablets are now outpacing PC sales.  They have even more capacity to walk away with sensitive company information.  Businesses are coming to realize staff will bring and use their personal devices for work.  It’s estimated 90% of businesses will come to accept this trend (Gartner).

Until recently there were few options to deal with this growing risk.  Mobile management is a growing industry designed to address a growing problem.

Mobile device management solutions (both in the cloud and some you can run yourself) are now available.  To use them your company subscribes to an Internet service (remember software as a service – SaaS?).  Then individual devices can be registered in the cloud with this Mobility Management Service.  Software is installed on the mobile device.  It doesn’t matter if it is an Android or I-Pad tablet, smart phone like Samsung or I-Phone or BlackBerry.   The software works to lock down the device and track it as a personally (or corporately) owned device.  From there you can restrict the list of applications available for installation, keep track of who owns the device, lock down security and even remotely wipe clean part or all of its content if it is lost or stolen.  There are many other cloud features and rich reporting available so you know exactly what’s going on with mobile devices and who’s using them.  This provides great peace of mind.  If someone attempts to use a device inappropriately (e.g. inappropriate application) the cloud service can produce a report of this user and/or notify your support staff.

This is such a large and growing problem that big organizations are racing to get to market with Mobility Management services.  Your local phone company will be amongst these.  Technology cloud vendors are also out there.  Problem is not one of them does everything you need quite yet – but that’s quickly changing.  Here are some of the companies I’ve come across that offer these cloud-based mobility management services:

VoxMobile (their cloud service was recently acquired by TELUS)

Long View Systems

TELUS Mobility Management Service

Juno Pulse

MobileIron

The questions for business are:

• Do you really understand your current risk?
• Are you willing to wait for an incident to find out?
• How many staff have left your company with sensitive information or have lost devices with corporate data?

If any of the above is a concern it may be time to look into cloud-based mobility management.

What is IPaaS?  Is it something new or just another industry buzzword used by marketing to confuse corporations?

Article coming soon.  Be sure to check back.