Redactie - 13 september 2013

Gartner Symposium/ITxpo 2013 Q&A: How Is the Digital World Impacting Mobile and Client Computing?


With Gartner Symposium/ITxpo 2013 coming up, we asked Leif-Olof Wallin, research vice president at Gartner, to share his views on how the digital world is impacting mobile, client computing and communications right now, and what key trends in this space will be discussed at Gartner Symposium/ITxpo this year. 

Q: The news is filled with bring your own device (BYOD) stories that lead many CIOs to believe they are behind the curve in implementing employee-owned device programs. Are IT leaders behind the curve, and is BYOD really an all-or-nothing strategy? 

Leif-Olof: Working with a great diversity of Gartner clients, I notice different attitudes towards BYOD, ranging from aggressively pursuing BYOD and making it mandatory in selected regions, to organizations denying that BYOD exists in their organization - they need to understand that BYOD is here to stay. When probing an organization that denies the existence of BYOD among its staff, it usually admits there are employees taking notes in meetings on personal tablets or employees taking a photo of a whiteboard in a sensitive meeting using a personal smartphone. Outside a couple of very highly security-conscious verticals, BYOD exists and is here to stay. Ignoring "hidden" or "under the radar" BYOD programs puts a company at risk, because there are no processes for safe data disposal when "unknown" personal devices leave the organization. 

In addition, BYOD is definitely not an all-or-nothing proposition. The organization needs to assess what types of devices it needs to include in the program. Is it only smartphones and tablets, or should the program be extended to also include Windows PCs and/or Macs? 

Once the BYOD program is set up and eligibility criteria are established, a manager assesses the eligibility of their direct reports on request. Upon manager’s approval, the employee gets added to the program. It’s not a best practice to support any device in the program; most organizations will need to define what platforms they support, and these minimum requirements may change over time.

Q: What are some of the challenges IT leaders are facing around BYOD?

Leif-Olof: One recurring theme among our clients is that they frequently fail to understand that, as part of the BYOD scenario, the end user owns the device and is responsible for the device and what’s on it. Highly restrictive usage policies may simply not be enforceable, and privacy has to be respected. 

Another frequent challenge is the difficulty of clearly articulating the responsibility of the employee, what support the employee can expect and what they need to handle themselves. Some organizations will limit the support of certain areas, such as configuring email on the device or connecting the device to the corporate network. 

Q: What advice do you have for IT leaders who have not yet implemented a BYOD program? 

Leif-Olof: IT leaders need to start using Gartner’s BYOD policy template toolkit, which lists all the areas that require addressing, to customize their BYOD policy template. If they don’t have access to the Gartner toolkit, IT leaders need to determine what should be included in their policy framework. Above all, they need to remember that if their organization is an international one and present in multiple countries, IT leaders need to create a global policy framework that can then be adapted to local legal, tax and other implications by involving local HR, legal and tax advisors. 

Q: How will Gartner Symposium/ITxpo 2013 help IT leaders understand the constant change in mobile and client computing? 

Leif-Olof: During Gartner Symposium/ITxpo in Orlando, Gold Coast and Barcelona, we’ll run a workshop on "How to Get a BYOD Policy in Place" exclusively for end-user organizations and BYOD will be a main trend discussed in many sessions throughout our Symposium events worldwide.  This presents an excellent opportunity to work on the material first hand. In addition, several analysts that specialize in the BYOD area are available for one-on-one meetings, and Gartner Symposium/ITxpo is the place to network with peers and share best practices on, and experiences of, BYOD. 

About Gartner Symposium/ITxpo

Gartner Symposium/ITxpo is the world's most important gathering of CIOs and senior IT executives. This event delivers independent and objective content with the authority and weight of the world's leading IT research and advisory organization, and provides access to the latest solutions from key technology providers. Gartner's annual Symposium/ITxpo events are key components of attendees' annual planning efforts. IT executives rely on Gartner Symposium/ITxpo to gain insight into how their organizations can use IT to address business challenges and improve operational efficiency. 

Additional information from the event will be shared on Twitter at http://twitter.com/Gartner_inc and using #GartnerSym. 

Upcoming dates and locations for Gartner Symposium/ITxpo include:

September 16-18, Cape Town, South Africa: www.gartner.co.za

October 6-10, Orlando, Florida: www.gartner.com/us/symposium

October 15-17, Tokyo, Japan: www.gartner.com/jp/symposium

October 21-24, Goa, India: www.gartner.com/in/symposium

October 28-31, Gold Coast, Australia: www.gartner.com/au/symposium

November 4-7, Sao Paulo, Brazil: www.gartner.com/br/symposium

November 10-14, Barcelona, Spain: www.gartner.com/eu/symposium


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