Is BYOS the Real Problem in Mobility?

Users bring their own software because normal IT processes get in the way of the speed of business. It’s easy to go to SurveyMonkey versus waiting for the IT team to create and launch a survey internally. Cloud-based applications are easy to use and easy to access, and users want to move forward and get their jobs done.

Ways in which IT can solve the problem include:

• Establish IT business partners that meet with the business units to find out what they are working on, understand their challenges and learn how they are actually doing business versus how IT thinks they are doing business. Then build solutions that match what the business users are trying to do.

• Be present in the project quality analysis stage when business units present program development plans. Evaluate the program from a workflow perspective to make sure that technical and security specifications match everything that they need. Discrepancies may indicate a plan to go to the Cloud for part of the program.

• Build flexibility into access policies to accommodate valid business needs, especially in instances of global blocking policies.

• Watch out for licensing issues. If rogue software is on your network, and you get a licensing audit, it belongs to you. That can bite you.