by Jeff Owen

You no doubt, already know that Bring Your Own Device, or BYOD, is one of the hottest topics in the industry.  Many pundits and research firms have commented on the various drivers, issues and concerns voiced by individuals, organizations and the media, not the least of which is security.  Thus we dedicate the next several articles and a few more on our website to this issue.

We frame this by referencing four recent research studies:

• CTEMS Research: 78% of Enterprises Allow BYOD – tinyurl.com/ct2rknw
• Despite BYOD Buzz Most Enterprises Retain Control Over Mobile Device Purchasing and Provisioning – tinyurl.com/d37r4yq
• New Study Reveals Even Top IT Professionals Concerned about BYOD Privacy Breaches – tinyurl.com/d53c2om
• 67,000 phones likely to be lost or stolen during London Olympics – tinyurl.com/cmwxnea

As you can see, even though not everyone agrees to the magnitude of this issue they do agree that BYOD presents both opportunity and risk. From this perspective we’ve collected several articles for this edition, and one podcast.

• George Waller, founder and prior CEO of StrikeForce Technologies, continues framing the issue in “Bring Your Own Destruction?”
• Ram Appalaraju, VP of Marketing at Enterasys Networks, brings us “Five Rules for Creating a Successful BYOD Environment,” wherein he gives a holistic view and sets the stage for BYOD.
• Ian Yates, CEO of Quickcomm, addresses the security issue from the top down in “Why Your Business Needs a Telecommunications Management Strategy.”
• Paul Andersen, Marketing Manager at Array Networks, drills down a level in “I Brought My Own Device. Now What?”
• Based on an interview I did with two Senior Marketing Managers with RIM (BlackBerry), Ettan Romm and Deanne Taenzer is, “RIM Provides BYOD Security” which touches on the capabilities, products and services they offer in support of BYOD devices, management and security.
• Ojas Rege, VP of Product with MobileIron, “Adjusting to a BYOD World,” where he discusses security as trust and building a BYOD model.

We’ve created a BYOD Security category at our website (telecomreseller.com) so that relevant articles, podcasts, blogs and press releases will be cataloged and kept together to make searching and finding them easier.

In conjunction with this special print edition, we also did a podcast interview with Lawrence Byrd, Director of Collaboration Solutions for Avaya.  He discusses the business drivers for BYOD and a three-pronged approach to security: authentication of the user and specific device, access to applications, and centralized management of IT services – tinyurl.com/d878ud2.

All our contributors agree on a two points: BYOD is here to stay, and we need to effectively support it within the scope, policies, guidelines and risk limits set by our respective organizations.

Telecom Reseller will continue to monitor and report on BYOD and its security issues both in print and online.