Android

Bring your own device (BYOD) has changed the IT landscape, and some companies are handling the new world better than others. This week I came across a November blog from Sheila Jordan, senior vice president of the Communication and Collaboration IT organization for Cisco, that shares how Cisco handles mobility.

With the love of devices only growing stronger and new models and products arriving in time for the holidays, Jordan (no relation) gives six steps in the Cisco policy and practices for managing the mobile devices that have permeated the workplace. A few gems stood out.

More Access. More Security.

“The more network access the user wants, the more security we apply to the device,” writes Jordan. She also says Cisco IT has the right to wipe a device if it is lost or stolen.

Create An App Center

Jordan says Cisco offers employees an easy way to access apps and services that can simplify business processes and increase productivity. “Consider creating your own app center where you can house a combination of your own and third-party applications. The corporate store will give employees easy access to Cisco-recommended applications–so they can submit business trip expenses from an airport, take a Jabber video call from the sidelines of a soccer game, or continue that WebEx meeting as they shift from one location to another.” Jordan is quick to point out that the corporate app store is not the only employee-accessible app repository and the intention is not to micromanage the employees.

Get Ahead of the Hype

Around the holidays, Jordan notes, many employees will receive “shiny new devices as gifts, so we proactively email instructions to ease the device-setup experience” She says this is to allow Cisco to avoid overtaxing its global IT support team, which operates with a skeleton crew during the holiday break. Similarly, when a new device will be making a debut, Jordan says Cisco sends communications to employees BEFORE the device is on the shelf. “Our IT team created a series of communications to share with employees as soon as the official announcement [for Apple iPhone 5] hit,” reveals Jordan. “The communication addressed common questions including how to order and provision new iPhone 5s. As a result, we were able to painlessly add 2,500 of them onto the corporate network within three weeks.”

Speaking of Apple’s iPhones, there appears to be a shift in mobile preferences happening. A recent trending report from Zscaler ThreatLabZ shows “current Android use at 45.23 percent and iOS at 49.6 percent (compared to 36.88 percent and 55.36 percent respectively in Q2), the gap between the two continued to narrow—decreasing by 76 percent this quarter over last. Accounting for that gap, Android use increased by 22 percent over Q2, and iOS decreased by 10 percent.”

Jordan’s full six steps blog, even with a few Cisco product plugs, is a quick, yet insightful read.