Mobility is becoming less of a perk and more of a requirement. It’s not a nice-to-have, it’s a must-have. Some estimates say 50% of the workforce will be mobile by 2022. Enterprises that don’t enable their staff for mobility will lose in talent acquisition to those that do. However, are all those individual devices accessing your business data creating chinks in the armor of your security?
First, let’s talk about the upsides of mobility. By empowering your staff to work remotely, or on the road, you have the potential to reduce your overhead – less need for office space and all the utilities that go with it. Allowing workers to access company information on their mobile devices can save huge amounts of cash in terms of travel, accommodation, instructors, etc., needed for classroom-based training or for searching for company data at the office before visiting a client.
Companies that promote mobility see increases in productivity. If your team can work anywhere, any time, they get a flexibility in their personal and professional lives that fosters increased job satisfaction. Collaboration gets a boost too, as we’ve seen a major growth in apps that allow teams to work together on projects that are updated in real-time.
Reduced costs, happier, more productive and collaborative employees? Sounds like a winning combination. But, there are still plenty of concerns about the security of a mobile workforce. Each of those devices represent a window of opportunity for data loss or breach. But, just as we feared the safety of using the internet for business, we must recognize that the benefits outweigh the risks and we need to grow and adapt to maximize our gain from mobility.
A growing feature for the mobile workforce is the ability to text from your work number or DID. While this is very effective in C to B markets, it is also finding uses in the Consumer to Consumer work space. Giving clients heads up on delivery, timely information while out of the office, or meeting change of time are just some of the areas where this can improve business communication. Not all hosted companies offer this service, so it is important that you do your research accordingly.
A mobile workforce is a stronger workforce and you need to have the protections in place to ensure it’s a secure operation. Corporate Technologies Group can assess your current infrastructure, current needs, and your plans for the future, and build a technology solution that will act as the bridge to connect them.
Take a look at our Easy Cloud Security Best Practices white paper for some simple ways to keep your hosted environment protected.
