Are mobile devices a panacea that will bring more flexibility to the end user computing experience, or are they a Trojan Horse, just waiting to be pulled inside the gates, where chaos will ensue? It’s important to understand the factors in the equation, as it’s not a binary issue, and, as we know and as I’ve written previously in this blog, these mobiles are complex computers with many of these factors to consider. A fundamental issue to comprehend is that you need to consider the platform (operating system) and the applications and their ecosystem. A secure operating system with loosely secured applications can provide many vectors for data loss. An untrustable operating system poses problems for a even a well-written application. So what mobile OS should your enterprise support? The tightly integrated hardware and software of iOS devices have given Apple a leg up, but some Android devices are closing the gap at the OS level. Remember that “no” is not likely to be a sustainable answer to integrating mobiles into your strategy. You need to perform a risk-weighted analysis, which, combined with your organization’s risk appetite, can help you with these decisions. I read a very nice article in Network World today that helps to lay out some of these platform and ecosystem issues in a clear and unemotional manner. It’s a good read.
