The latest mobility mantra is all about giving mobile workers what they need to do their jobs without sacrificing IT control or security. Seems doable, right? The challenge for many of the Dell customers I’ve spoken with recently is that managing the deluge of mobile devices is overburdening IT as they struggle to better support an increasingly mobile workforce.
BYOD has changed the game—and a winning strategy must include ways to protect the IT infrastructure so users can connect securely from any access point while providing the flexibility to transform traditional workplaces into “digital workspaces” and adapt easily to new business models and technology.
The reality is that employees want to use personal devices. If you don’t support them properly, they will find workarounds, which can cause all sorts of security problems and lead to data leakage and cyber-attacks. And let’s not overlook the special needs of line-of-business owners, who have their own requirements when it comes to adding mobile tools and technologies to drive business forward.
Each customer I speak with has varying challenges and requirements, so we recommend looking at the mobility needs of your business through the lens of security and compliance. Today, I’m joining my colleague Neal Foster, executive director, Integrated Solutions at Dell Software, to lead a CIO Summit discussion on Security Best Practices for BYOD at MobileCON, which is taking place in San Jose through October 18th. We’ll be meeting with customers, media, industry analysts and many of our mobility peers both on and off the conference floor to talk about best practices for managing devices, optimizing infrastructures, developing and modernizing apps—and of course, securing data.
A group of our Dell colleagues also will be on hand at Booth No. 324 to showcase the latest Dell Mobility Solutions, including several offerings we’re unveiling today. We’re announcing new mobility solutions to extend workspace security and IT operational agility, starting with a new Dell KACE 1000 GO app that makes it much easier for IT admins to address the growing diversity of devices by giving them mobile access to the powerful capabilities of the Dell KACE K1000 Systems Management appliance.
As part of Dell’s focus on Connected Security, the latest release of the Dell SonicWALL Mobile Connect app is now pre-installed on all Windows 8.1 tablets and laptops, including our recently announced Dell Venue portfolio, which clearly reinforces our commitment to extending secure access capabilities to more mobile devices and laptops. And, because we know that organizations are seeking secure, cloud-based management of dynamic mobile environments, we’ve expanded Dell Wyse Cloud Client Manager to include support for iOS 7 smartphones and tablets as well as Dell’s hardened Android devices.
We recognize that any major move into mobility creates myriad cost and complexity issues, which is why Dell Services is introducing a new mobility consulting service to address the particular needs of customers in the mid-range market. While this segment stands to reap big benefits from embracing mobility, mid-market companies often don’t have the internal resources to plan technology roadmaps that encompass individual mobile strategies and device platform requirements. That’s where we come in with a modular set of services to streamline the planning process.
I’m very excited about Dell’s evolving mobility strategy and look forward to sharing additional milestones in the months ahead as we continue to execute our plans to deliver end-to-end mobility management solutions. Many of our ideas and solutions come from ongoing conversations with customers, so drop me a line at Tom_Kendra@Dell.com to start a dialogue on your mobility plans.
We’re listening intently and working diligently to make it easier and more seamless for customers to configure and implement security and compliance policies for their smartphones, tablets and laptops while delivering the apps their employees need to be productive across multiple device and OS platforms.
Stay tuned for more…