Enterprise Mobility: Security Risk or Worth It?

Written by Brooks Canavesi on . Posted in Blog, Mobile App Development, Sales Strategy, Technology Tips & Tricks, Technology trends

For the first time in computing history the enterprise is being influenced by its employees and consumers technology through IT consumerization.  IT consumerization is the blending of personal and business use of technology devices and applications.   Many companies have embraced a mobile-first strategy. But when employees are left to their own devices, InfoSec experts face unchartered territory. However, enterprise mobility can be and is in my opinion is absolutely a strategy enterprises cannot continue to ignore.

The trend towards enterprise mobility can indeed add to concerns over BYOD (bring your own device) security. And even though such systems are key to business operations, they’re not regularly maintained or tested for vulnerabilities, mainly due to availability concerns.

Enterprise mobility really is a double-edged sword: it helps provide broad data access along with communication capabilities for a great deal of the workforce, often at little to no direct cost. It also aids in opening up security issues that can range from vulnerable apps to security issues and employees accessing sensitive corporate data via unsecured networks.

Many CISOs and CIOs tend to realize that while security technologies and mobile device management do play a role, clear policies are essential to harnessing the benefits of BYOD. The aim of such policies needs to be to increase user productivity and satisfaction while ensuring compliance and the utmost security.

It Is A Risk Worth Taking 

So where do you start building a mobile security policy? Simple: start with what makes you uncomfortable. Devices need to meet “trusted device standards” in order to comply and employees should use VPN clients to gain access to the company network. What’s more, employee-owned devices should support security policies and frameworks that keep enterprise data secure at rest and in transit.

The trend towards enterprise mobility with critical systems and data can add to the concerns over BYOD security.  While some security policies are indeed standard procedure, you need to identify which functions, data and applications need protection most in order to understand how enterprise mobility could expose them. Some companies, such as Cisco and Oracle, use MDM (mobile device management) and MAM (mobile application management) to do application installs / removals, containerization and encryption of enterprise data, and in some cases remote wipe for loss prevention.

BYOD does bring many benefits when it comes to empowering your staff with timely information, offering flexibility and increasing productivity. Enterprise mobility also have many customer benefits such as improving consumer loyalty, streamlining customer support process and reducing support costs.  The benefits far outweigh the risks, but every company has unique situations and that’s where BYOD security technologies and policies should be focused.

Take the First Step

Enterprise mobility necessitates partnership with business leader involvement coupled with the understanding that not all risks are bad. The first step should be to establish a committee of business and tech leaders to identify the data and critical systems that should be considered when formulating the BYOD policy. The next step should be to review policy and technical controls based on potential risks and threats to your current operations.

Based on this sort of analysis, security officers and CIOs will be able to determine how to enhance and enable their enterprise mobility programs to moderate business risks.

Learn more about Oracle’s Enterprise Mobility Management (EMM)

Looking for a partner to help your enterprise mobility needs, check out OpenArc.

5 Places the ‘Internet of Things’ Is Changing

Written by Brooks Canavesi on . Posted in Technology trends

Technology is everywhere. More than just our phones, tablets, and computers are being created equipped with incredible features all spurned from the technological advances of recent years. As Internet functionalities have made its way into more and more devices, it becomes harder to pass a day without using some sort of smart feature.

What Is the Internet of Things?

The Internet of things is a term for the growing trend of putting the Internet into non-computer/phone objects. In other words, it is the act of literally connecting the Internet to things. A good example of an Internet of things device is the Apple Watch. It is a form of wearable technology, which falls under this category.

5 Places Being Changed by the Internet of Things
Here are five day-to-day places that are already greatly influenced by the Internet of things.
  1. Smart Houses
In today’s environment, even houses have to have a high IQ. As technology grows, homes are getting smarter and smarter. Technology for homes has created many incredible devices that can be monitored and run from a smart phone.

There are many examples of smart house features, with more being added all of the time.
  • Lights can be turned on and off and dimmed from a phone with smart light bulbs.
  • Temperature can be controlled through phones or computerized monitors to ensure it is the desired temperature at the right times.
  • Security features are added to many homes so that it can be remotely monitored at any given time.
  • Doors are being equipped with keyless entry that senses a smart phone when it is near.
  1. Customer Management
The Harvard Business Review wrote an article that shows just how much the Internet of things has changed customer management. Take Disney’s MyMagic+ as an example. With this service, Disney can track guests through a bracelet that lets them schedule their day. Then, with the tracked information, Disney can tell them a place to take a rest if they are ahead of schedule or what they might want to skip if they are running late. It also allows the guests to enter their hotel rooms with the bracelet.

This is just one example out of many that shows just how this phenomenon has entered the customer management market.    
  1. Wearable Technology
Some of the most well-known advances in the ‘Internet of things’ arena is wearable technology. From the Apple Watch to Fitbits to Jawbones, everybody seems to have some sort of wearable technology to show off.

These tech gadgets allow you to monitor physical activity, see how much you are sleeping, and stay connected to the digital world around you.

On top of all of that, even pets can get in on the action. Devices such as smart collars allow owners to track the whereabouts of pets from a phone or computer.
  1. Cars and Other Modes of Transportation
After wearable technology, cars and other forms of transportation are probably the next widely known type of technologically advanced devices. Standard car features now include traffic-equipped GPS devices, built-in Bluetooth capability, cameras, monitors, and alarms. And those are just the standard features.

New cars on the market today can tell you when you are starting to drift in another lane; stop you before you run into something; tell you if anything is behind you; and make it easier to connect hands-free to social networks. There are also cars that make it easy to track if it has been lost or stolen.
  1. Health Care
Even health care is being effected by the Internet of things. Set aside all of the technology being used in doctor’s offices and hospitals, let’s just look at personal health care options.
  • You can monitor and check your temperature and blood pressure through devices that you can connect to your phone.
  • You can find doctors and book appointments when you need to do so.
  • You can check your symptoms and be connected to doctors in real time in order to have consultations.
It has never been easier to check and monitor your health without needing to go to the doctor.

Change Is Everywhere

As the Internet of things grows and prospers, more and more of our day-to-day activities will be centered around these objects.

Mobile App Monetization – Make It Rain

Written by Brooks Canavesi on . Posted in Mobile App Development, Technology trends

2014 marked the year where there were more connected mobile devices than people on this planet. It’s pivotal to how we think about mobile application development and wearable technology. So how do you get paid as an app developer?

Entrepreneurs and developers looking to monetize apps have a few options at their disposal:
1) Pay per download (need a killer app for people to pay today)
2) In-app advertising (need a ton of users)
3) In-app purchases
4) Freemium version
5) Free – sell user data (need millions of users to play this card)

Remember nothing is free in the mobile app world.
A wise man once told me: If something is “Free” to you, then “You” are the product! #sageadvice