How to Understand Corporate-Liable vs. Individual-Liable Mobile Assets

Recommendation No. 4: Strive for a homogenous environment of CL devices

Having the highest level of control over all corporate devices is the best way to ensure the protection of sensitive company data and avoid unnecessary security exposure. In a CL environment, businesses can better align mobile device management technology with mobile policies, allowing IT to distribute applications, track invoicing, and handle security issues seamlessly and efficiently.

A homogenous environment also reduces the costs and complexities of managing and supporting the smart device infrastructure. With consistent operating systems and hardware configurations, the ability to remotely deploy applications and provide user service can be greatly enhanced, thereby lowering costs, maximizing support capabilities and minimizing user downtime.

Recommendation No. 5: Hybrid mobile environments can work with more effort

While a hybrid mobile enterprise comprised of a mix of CL and IL devices can create a complex environment for business to manage, it is possible for enterprises to mitigate these complexities with adequate mobile device management software and policies. Businesses taking this route must ensure that they closely monitor and track non-corporate devices in order to manage data access and security compliance, as well as application and invoice tracking, alongside the organization’s corporate-issued devices.

Recommendation No. 6: Foster a closer relationship between IT and finance

IT and finance need to be aligned so that a mobile billing policy is tightly connected to a corporation’s mobile usage policy. This is necessary whether that means tracking personal versus corporate calls, or ensuring that applications are downloaded, billed (if necessary) and tracked properly. If corporations have the right mix of process, technology and departmental collaboration, the odds of long-term savings and optimal corporate control over the mobile infrastructure is greatly increased. In addition, aligning appropriate policies and capabilities between finance and IT can mitigate, or even eliminate, the significant risks and cost exposures of lost or stolen corporate data.

Conclusion

There are many considerations and actions organizations must consider in order to minimize both the costs and risks associated with managing mobile devices in such a rapidly changing environment. The good news is that there is a plethora of services and technologies available to assist enterprises in their IL versus CL considerations. Ultimately, the more an organization can anticipate trends, evaluate options and set clear guidelines for what devices have a place in the corporate network (and how they will be owned, operated and managed), the better they will be—no matter what course they take.

Albert Subbloie is founder, President and CEO of Tangoe. Albert is recognized as a telecommunications technology and Internet pioneer. Prior to Tangoe, Albert was among the first to develop and market voice and data solutions for integrated sales, marketing and customer service activities. Albert founded Information Management Associates (IMA) in 1984 and guided the company’s growth to more than $50M in sales and 300 customers in seven offices worldwide. Albert is credited with one of the patents for reverse auction theory, the leading Internet paradigm in most shopping Websites today. Albert received a degree with honors in Economics from Trinity College. He can be reached at albertsubbloie@tangoe.com.