“Gartner estimates that 70% of mobile professionals will conduct their work on personal smart devices by 2018.”
Pretty impressive prediction, right? So what does that mean for the modern enterprise?
Lets see if this logic makes sense (because we see this happening)… More and more people adopt smartphone devices by the day, which means more and more people have advanced computers inside their pocket. As this trend continues, busy working professionals are using these devices for both personal and professional utilities. And, because of this dual use, enterprises are becoming more and more concerned about the security of these devices. The fear behind lost devices, unprotected data, malware, virus introduction, etc., can be paralyzing to the advancement of technology in enterprise organizations.
However, given almost inevitable and pervasive adoption of iPhone and Android devices (ok, fine… Windows and Blackberry too), there are ways to embrace the growth in enterprise applications, yet remain confident in their security. In September, a NetworkWorld.com article entitled “The 10 most common mobile security problems and how you can fight them” provides some ways to stay ahead of security risks. Staying current with recent technological advancements and maintaining a secure network can be a fine balance at times.
The enterprise mobile workforce operates on the fly and has additional pressure to perform in the moment, regardless of their connectivity or signal strength. Despite the aforementioned security concerns, these workers need the speed and ease of “consumerized” mobile applications. The benefits of enabling your workforce through their mobile device far outweigh the downside security risk.
CIO recently posted an article entitled “How to avoid BYOD disasters”, which also outlines a series of nightmare scenarios. More importantly, it provides some ideas for successfully navigating these waters during strategy talks. So you see, there are ways to make it all work!
As the rise in mobile technology becomes married to the consistent mobile workflow, it is imperative that enterprise organizations take the necessary steps to ensure security. Confronting these concerns during the formation of a mobile strategy will allow your enterprise to adopt the best mobile practices and move forward fearlessly. If you’ve got more questions, maybe we can help… just let us know!
Code is the Universal Language
Ready to be inspired? I promise, you will be, whether you are ahead of the tech curve, or feel left behind…
The future and world is changing so rapidly, it requires a new way of thinking and innovation. The common misconception is that it takes years of schooling and an extra special mind in order to code. However, as this Code.org video eloquently expounds: this is not “computer science” or “rocket science” for that matter! These skills can be learned by anyone who wants to put in the work.
As the Steve Jobs quote says to kick off the video, “Everybody in this country should learn how to program a computer…because it teaches you how to think.”
Developers are the new rockstars, they are the new innovators, they are changing the world and leading the change all at once. The video makes them all real people, just like you and me; accessible and personable. The video speaks for itself. Take a look and get inspired to advance your tech acumen.
It’s almost impossible to remember how we ever completed ANYTHING without modern technology. It is hard to remember not having (or needing) a cell phone and even harder to remember how we found answers before Google. Somehow, we still accomplished things… I just have trouble remembering how. Then again, there are things I tolerate today which I’m sure a future generations won’t understand.
The next generation can’t imagine a world without computers, smartphones, tablets and smart devices. They can’t understand not having things on demand. They certainly can’t imagine typing or texting as slowly as I do. Interactive experiences and technological advancements have provided for an entirely new pace of living and comprehension. You can video chat in real time or attend an event around the world (see Beck’s live, 360 concert as a prime example). Radio, television, vinyl, cassettes, VHS, CD’s, and DVD’s were all, at one point or another, cutting edge technology. We are moving quickly into a world where communication is getting quicker and, as a result, decisions and innovation come about faster.
So, as the world adopts technology for business and said technology matures, one can only imagine what we will be saying five years from now! Like, “I can’t believe someone used to do that manually!” or (hopefully), “Why did people have paper printers?”
We think about this a lot as we develop our product at GoSpotCheck. It reminds me of this College Humor video I saw a few years back. The video is the pilot for the hit TV show 24, but as if it had taken place in 1994 (pre-mobile phones, high speed internet, etc). It’s a pretty hilarious video, but also makes you wonder how any enterprise functioned without these things! We’re excited about the future, and about being a part of the next step of technological development for our enterprise clients. Bridging the gap between consumer technology and enterprise technology is important to us.
And now, we leave you with the video… does your retail enterprise still operate like its 1994?