Don't try to stop a steamroller!

New usages of IT, expansion of smart phones and tablets, arrival of the internet generation in the job market are unavoidable. Personal devices are often more powerful than traditional enterprise computers. Separation between private life and professional life becomes less and less obvious. Trying to settle rules and force users to work with company computers, inside company offices, on company applications, is a behavior that may fuel users' revolt who will try to use their Mac to access company messaging system. So let's just accept it. We can authorize use of personal devices while safeguarding enterprise information security.

Secure enterprise network access

First thing to do is analyzing how to better secure access to enterprise data and applications. Setup of a VPN is a first element but is not sufficient. One possible way to overcome issues is to isolate workplace from underlying devices. By considering the workplace as a "bubble" inside the device, such bubble containing all services required by the end user to work - applications and data -, CIOs can overcome device security issues, while isolating private world and professional workplace. .

Several vendors offer today "Desktop as a Service" (DaaS) solutions, allowing to access a virtual desktop from the Cloud.

With DaaS, professional workplace is hosted on the Cloud, and confidential or sensitive information is stored locally on user's personal device. In this way, "DaaS" can be an answer to "BYOD".

Protect data if downloaded locally on a personal device

Information security risk becomes higher when enterprise data are downloaded on a device - personal or professional -. It's so easy to dowlload documents on a one's PC or tablet! If such devices get lost, or stolen, this represents a serious breach in enterprise information security and confidentiality.

To overcome such issues, CIOs have two solutions:

- Either they completely restrict local data download on devices. In this situation, data are accessible from the virtual workplace, while user is connected to the internet. When offline, no data stay on the device.

- Autorize data downloads locally, within a "digital safe". Several vendors offer today solutions allowing to create an "enterprise dropbox" system. Users can then select their files to store within this safe. Such data are then replicated locally on the device, but always stay secure within a specific encrypted zone of the device, protecting them from being accessed in case of device theft.

Integrate BYOD within IT charter

The arival of Bring Your Own Device implies to revise IT charters within companies. Up to now, companies were providing devices to their employees. Nowadays, companies which accept personal devices should describe how they should be used within a professional context, and get a formal agreement from employees to respect those best practices when working from their private device.

If necessary, companies may even need to adjust their HR policies. The IT charter could indeed state that employees who aim at using their personal device are responsible for ensuring such devices stay in perfect working conditions, and that they should plan for any necessary IT support contract. In this case, enterprises may provide employees with an allowance enabling them to purchase such support contract.

Do not try to impose standards on personal devices

Our last advice is to prevent from imposing any standard on personal devices, which stay by essance built and configured according to user's wishes. It is feasible to state within IT charter that personal devices shall be protected against viruses with an up to date antivirus solution, but leaving the choice of the antivirus to the user. Companies have been struggling so hard in the past years to try imposing standards on their company devices - a battle of every single day -, that it may not be fruitful to start such an endavour. CIOs will rather focus on defining best practices of personal equipement use for professional purpose.

If you want to learn more on Desktop as a Service, I kindly invite you to discover Steria's DaaS solution, available since February 2012: Workplace On Command.

Enjoy!