The Need for BYOD

Research shows BYOD is steadily growing and with it grows a need for IT organizations to support this trend. More and more organizations are going mobile and to stay ahead of the technology curve it is important to provide secure access, through mobile devices, to enterprise level data. The productivity potential of BYOD is a point every company must evaluate.

With an increasing trend in bring your own device (BYOD) there is an equally increasing need to evaluate the risk and reward of this trend. A study conducted by Cisco states that average connected devices by knowledge workers were 2.8 in 2012 and are projected to reach 3.3 by 2014 (Camp, 2012). Workplaces are being flooded with BYOD and employers are becoming widely more accepting of this emerging culture (Anonymous, 2013). Gartner predicts that 38% of employers will stop providing devices to their employees by 2016 and that 50% will require BYOD by 2017 (Rivera, 2013). There is clearly a need to evaluate this trend. BYOD is increasing productivity by adding 53 minutes of work from workers with mobile access (Anonymous, 2013)

Primarily BYOD is being assessed on a basis of extensive research and multiple sources. Throughout many sources the apparent need for BYOD programs is a strongly recommended. The need for BYOD is widely increasing and it is imperative for increasing productivity. With the amount of additional work time a BYOD programs bring to any size corporation it is obvious that this need is a large point of consideration for many companies. The simple need for BYOD is imperative to companies that wish to grow and stay ahead and up to date with the fast advancing world of technology.

Many companies are rolling out more BYOD programs and expanding current impact. The types of devices that BYOD programs are supporting have grown rapidly in the last few years. With that comes the growth in numbers of devices each employee has connected to enterprise data. The amount of personally owned devices by employees has driven the need for BYOD. The amount of time and cost savings have companies ravishing of their BYOD program’s success. With more devices being connected companies have to supply less of them and user are more satisfied with their own devices.

Compliance with National security policies is a leading concern with BYOD and research is provided with attention to security. Many companies included in my research have unique approaches to BYOD and provide Enterprise Data Management (EPM) solutions. The sources are primarily research based and focus on information provided through surveys and other forms of information gathering. The information that will be provided in this research will focus on multiple areas but focus primarily on the need for BYOD, the growth of BYOD and the productivity that BYOD programs bring.

The ever growing trend of BYOD brings with it a large market of productivity. The increases in productivity have large effects on companies evaluating BYOD. Many companies list that their primary concern is security but the added productivity provides a nice incentive (). With a clear understanding of the impact that BYOD has to increase production in mobile workers, the need for BYOD can be more easily accepted. BYOD adds an average of 53 minutes per day per worker for most programs and increases exponentially as more individuals are added to the program. Production increases ultimately add to the bottom line of any company and when revenues go up, BYOD programs prove their usefulness. Employees with the ability to access enterprise data outside of the office are connected without having to be physically present and are essentially connected all the time. Most programs provide their productivity by allowing workers to complete and have access to items while they would otherwise be doing nothing else. This level of extreme connectivity is essential for any BYOD program and is driving more and more companies to evaluate these programs.

Connected devices are increasing rapidly as more workers are bringing their own devices into their work environments.  A study conducted by Cisco states that the average connected devices by knowledge workers were 2.8 in 2012 and are projected to reach 3.3 by 2014 (Camp, 2012). With many different devices available to employees there is a large area of what can be connected to enterprise data. There are tablets, smart phones, and mobile PCs, and with the increase in cellular data speeds it is incredibly easy to be constantly connected.  Email is the top access point for BYOD with 91% of companies allowing access to email (Connection, 2013). The ease of connecting and staying connected is increasing employee’s desires to connect their personal devices and go mobile. From iPad to Microsoft Surface the types of devices vary and in today’s world being constantly connected through multiple devices is not only the norm, it’s a way of life. Non-Blackberry devices are the leading operating systems for BYOD with Windows leading iOS by 13% (Connection, 2013). This increase in employee owned devices is driving BYOD and as more people acquire these devices the scope of BYOD polices must expand to include more devices.

Employees are not only supporting BYOD programs, they are heavily encouraging them. Gartner predicts that 38% of employers will stop providing devices to their employees by 2016 and that 50% will require BYOD by 2017 (Rivera, 2013). It’s not only because of the productivity that being mobile provides but the cost savings of BYOD is highly favorable in most organizations. 58% of companies provide no reimbursement for using personal devices as part of BYOD (Connection, 2013). This means that employees are purchasing their own devices and companies do not have to front the cost of providing this for their workforce.

The overall profitability of BYOD is largely prevalent in time gained and savings from not having to purchase employee devices. The amount of access to enterprise level data only increases productivity; however, with this increase there also comes a concern of security. Security of data is the leading concern of implementing a BYOD program (Connection, 2013). While being the leading point of concern for most companies a wide range of companies have come into the market boasting in their enterprise level security.

Companies such as SharePlus, Good, AirWatch, and Apple offer various levels of enterprise level security. Good is a household name in BYOD and enterprise data security, being used by 50% of the Fortune 100 companies (Someren, 2009). They focus on security and are an industry leader in all things BYOD. While there is not only Good that offers these solutions there are many more that emerge and become known for their secure applications. With security being the #1 concern of IT organizations when evaluating BYOD programs, it is important to have the right company available. SharePlus is just a single part of BYOD and holds the most user friendly mobile access to an already productive site, SharePoint (Brigman, 2013). Then there is AirWatch that provides an all-encompassing Mobile Device Management solution (Hein, 2012). There are many ways to deploy a BYOD program and these many companies make it easier for IT organizations to allow greater access to more information. Apple is known for its innovation but many would not realize that they focus on enterprise level security in most their devices. Apple’s BYOD focus is designed to put security first while still allowing a user friendly experience (Apple, 2013). The number of companies deploying BYOD programs is steadily growing because of these companies. 60% of organizations plan on or are implementing a BYOD strategy, while 19% already have one in place (Marvin, 2013).Creating a favorable BYOD environment is becoming more of a necessity in growing organizations.  There are many concerns in allowing enterprise information onto a non-work issued mobile device but more companies are coming out with appropriate management software for controlling and containing that information. BYOD is simply just a must have for any organization.

BYOD is a needed part if any business and while it grows in acceptance by IT departments and organizations alike, supporting this trend will only put companies ahead of the technology curve. The productivity that BYOD brings is the primary selling point of any BYOD program and it’s clear that evaluating this program in any company is a must. Employers are embracing BYOD and continue to allow more access to enterprise level data on mobile devices. The amount of mobile devices owned per employee is increasing and giving access to all these devices is what BYOD is for (Lengyel, 2013). This increase and acceptance is causing BYOD to thrive and any organization would be fooling for not implementing their own program.  There is potential to increase productivity and keep enterprise data secure with the right BYOD policy. With the growing BYOD market, companies need to put in place their own solution before their employees find their own way.

References

Hein, R. (2012, July 11). 7 Reasons to use airwatch for mobile device management. Retrieved from http://www.cio.com/article/710540/7_Reasons_to_Use_AirWatch_for_Mobile_Device_Management

Someren, N. (2009). Good technology. Retrieved from http://www.crunchbase.com/company/good-technology

Marvin, C. (2013). Good collaboration suite. Retrieved from http://www1.good.com/applications/collaboration-suite

Lengyel, C. (2013). Managing devices in your organization?. Retrieved from http://www.air-watch.com/

Apple, I. (2013). Bring your own device. Retrieved from http://www.apple.com/ipad/business/it-center/byod.html

Brigman, Z. (2013). Shareplus enterprise. Retrieved from http://www.shareplusapp.com/

Connection, P. (2013). 2013 outlook on technology: Byod survey results. Retrieved from http://www.pcconnection.com/~/media/PDFs/Brands/C/Cisco/Survey/25029_Cisco_BYODSurvey_PCC.pdf

Anonymous. (2013). Byod by the numbers. Retrieved from http://www.itclips.net/2013/03/26/byod-by-the-numbers-infographic

Rivera, J. (2013, May 01). Gartner predicts by 2017, half of employers will require employees to supply their own device for work purposes. Enterprises That Offer Only Corporate-Liable Programs Will Soon Be the Exception, Retrieved from http://www.gartner.com/newsroom/id/2466615

Camp, R. (2012, May 16). Cisco study: It saying yes to byod. Cisco Advances Mobility Strategy With new Enterprise ‘Smart Solutions,' Building on Service Provider Offerings and Enabling ‘Your Way’ Experiences. Retrieved from http://newsroom.cisco.com/press-release-content?articleId=854754

Microsoft Lync

Here is a great new tool that Microsoft has released and I think it is just splendid.http://lync.microsoft.com/en-us/Pages/unified-communications.aspx
It is a unified messaging system. It integrates many options for collaborating and communicating. It has instant messaging, Video conferencing, screen sharing, and document sharing. All helpful tools for communicating in today's instant world. There are so many features and they all run side by side with each other really well. You can jump from an IM right to sharing your screen. Scheduling conference calls is easier than ever. Not to mention the great integration with Outlook.
With all these great features there are some things that are bound not to go the way you want them to.
One of the big things I don't like is how audio can't be shared through your computer. Lets say for instance that I had a power point with an embedded video and I wanted to do an online collaboration with my PowerPoint. The audio simply won't transfer from your computer to any other computer. This is a known issue and apparently they are working on it but there isn't any software out there that is setup to share audio through your computer to another computer at the same time.
If they did have that option it may get a little hairy. Imagine if you were on an online meeting using the speakers and mic on your computer to communicate. It would actually be a huge distraction to other people if they hear your computer keep playing a sound every time you got a new message. You would have to design it so that you could isolate the audio and send only what you want. This is a huge programming cluster and I am glad I am not in charge of it. To write the code for this you would have to be dedicated and surely insane. It would take a lot of time and who knows if anyone really wants to do that. You would almost have to change the whole way a computer works. They are designed to use just a single audio source and play any and all sounds through the same device. You would have to then change how audio came out your computer and find a way to assign a different audio output for every audio device.
Think of it this way. If you are on your cell phone and you make a call, most smart phones have multi-tasking, and you want to open up an app while on the call. You're not going to get audio to come out because an audio source is already in use and there aren't multiple output devices on your phone. You most certainly wouldn't be able to play a song and have the person on the call able to hear it, unless you had another audio output.
So the simple conclusion is that you just can't share audio when you already have on audio source outputting. I imagine they will find a way around it but I would get a headache just thinking about it. In fact I think I will go take some aspirin.

Xerox Printer Banner or Cover Sheet

Is your Xerox printer printing banner sheets for every user, when it wasn't before? Did you just do a software update? When you go in to the banner setting does it say No? I might have some help for you.

There are two ways to go about it. 1 is to log in remotely to the printer using the IP address. 2 is to log in from the machine.

Option 1.
Access the remote portal by entering the IP address of the machine into your web browser. Go to properties and log in as Admin, password is 1111 on all Xerox printers. Under Services there is a Printing option. Select the Print Settings and under Banner Sheet turn both options to yes. One for Print Banner Sheet and one for Allow the Print Driver to Override. Click Apply. Print a page to the printer. Depending on how the software update did this may stop banner sheets from being printed. If not go back to the same print settings page and select No for both options. Then hit apply and print a page again. This will now resolve the issue with the banner pages showing up.

Option 2.
Click the log in button and enter admin for the user name and 1111 for the password. Click machine status and go to the Tools tab. Select Service Settings then Job Sheets then Banner Sheets. Turn both options to yes. One for Print Banner Sheet and one for Allow the Print Driver to Override. Click Apply. Print a page to the printer. Depending on how the software update did this may stop banner sheets from being printed. If not go back to the same print settings page and select No for both options. Then hit apply and print a page again. This will now resolve the issue with the banner pages showing up.

Trouble shooting

Trouble shooting is what every IT guy uses to solve problems. It is the only way to get to the source of a problem. It is our greatest tool and what makes it so great is how simple it starts but that is most likely the greatest distress of the end user. We start with the easy stuff, Is it plugged in? Did you push the power button? Most take that as an insult of intelligence but what few understand is we are not insulting you we are merely working through a problem. However, it is very hard for many IT people to be humble of their own knowledge. There are many stories of IT people not being able to interact well with end users because of their immense knowledge. It's hard to have to break things into layman's terms when your knowledge of it has far beyond it. That is what most IT people have missed and that is where most end users feel insulted. There is difficulty in breaking down computers into a more simplistic term when you know it as something that can be more sophisticated. I recall just the other day I told a user to ping our server, unintentional of course, but she replied with "I'm an accountant, I have no clue what ping our server means." To an IT guy that is probably the easiest IT term and they have done it a million times. I had to break it down further into a step by step instruction and that can be frustrating when you know it to be so simple. What I have learned is that you have to be very directional and patient, knowing that there was a time when someone told you to ping a server and you went, "Do a what now?" It's hard to try and simplify things with out insulting some ones intelligence. If you break it down to a preschool level they may understand it but they will feel insulted. You are better off explaining it as if you were teaching Tech 101 in home room and letting them ask questions. There is a tough balance though. Most users assume that you know it all and should be able to fix it by looking at it. Sometimes they don't want to ask questions and they just want you to take care of it for them. That is a user that you would be better off just doing it for them because they have no desire to learn.

Asking questions is the best way to get answers. What many don't realize is that your have to ask 100 questions before you can get one answer in the tech world. It usually starts with "Is it plugged in? Did you try restarting?" That is in no way intended to be an insult but one of the many questions that must be asked in that order or else you could end up wasting a lot of time. I can't recall the times I had skipped that first step and it lead to an hour of wasted questions to figure out you just had to plug it in or restart it. There is a constant battle of trying to become more efficient in solving computer problems and Trouble Shooting is the easiest way to combat wasted time. The first steps of trouble shooting are necessary in order to walk further down the line to solving the problem.

Just the other day my sister called and asked me to fix her wireless router because her computer couldn't get connected. She lives about 1000 miles away and I couldn't just drive over to take a look at it. So I started trouble shooting with her. Unplug everything, wait 30 seconds, plug the modem in, wait 15 seconds, plug the router in, wait 15 seconds, restart your computer. But that did nothing for us. So I figured there must be something in her wireless settings. So I told her to plug directly into the router and I would remote in to take a look. I was in there taking a look at everything and all her settings seem correct. I was confused. So then I started working backwards and tried to find the steps I might have missed. Once I realized I had missed a very important step, I just about kicked myself. I asked what the wireless password was and she had a good guess but it was wrong. So I just logged into the router and checked it myself and boom, just like that she was connected. It only took an hour to figure out.

There is a good reason why most Tech guys prefer to work alone and that because they don't have anyone to try to change the way the do things. When you don't have an end user telling you what to do and how to fix it, it makes it easier to complete trouble shooting and do it quickly.

That's about the just of why Tech guys use trouble shooting and don't like to skip steps. The world would be a better place if we had more trouble shooters and less trouble makers.

Snapshot Discount

This is a personal review of the Snapshot Discount by Progressive.

What Snapshot is about - recording your daily driving and monitoring a few items.
1. Records Miles driven.
2. Records time of day during drive time.
3. Records any time you decelerate more than 7 mph per second.

Why miles driven?
By tracking how much you drive and for how long can assist an insurance company in assessing how much of a liability you will be. The Snapshot device works with your car's computer system to monitor all these things. The connection is typically used by a mechanic to get readings from your car's computer to asses failure messages. In the same way the Snapshot can read from your computer and assess live activity.

Why time of day?
Time of day also relates in assessing liability. If your common drive times are during rush hour periods you are considered more of a liability. High risk times from Progressive are considered to be between the hours of 12 am and 4am. This is calculated by research done showing that higher amounts off fatal accidents occur during that time. Medium risk is between the hours of 4am to 9am, 3pm to 6pm, and 9pm to 12am. This is calculated based off higher traffic time (rush hours).

Why deceleration?
Decreasing speed by 7mph or more per second is considered a "Hard Brake" by Progressive. The more of these you have the more of a liability you are. Research done by a third party shows that drivers who have more hard brakes are more likely to be involved in a collision. This hard braking can come from having unsafe following distances, being distracted, or having a tendency to accelerate quickly.

How do you know if it's right for you?
If you avoid hard braking or stop–and–go driving, drive fewer than 30 miles per day, or avoid driving between midnight and 4 a.m., then you’re likely to save with Snapshot. Snapshot focuses on how, how far, and when you drive, NOT where you drive. The Snapshot device does not contain GPS technology and does not track vehicle location or whether you’re exceeding the speed limit. Progressive also doesn't know who is driving the car in which the device is plugged in. You can potentially save 30% off your Progressive bill. I personally saved 10%. My driving habit consisted of daily traveling over 100 miles and 3 hard brakes on average a week. Most of my driving time was during Medium risk times. Almost all makes and models after 1996 have the slot to plug your Snapshot device into the car's computer. So if you're worried if your car can use the Snapshot, model years 1996 and after will be able to use it.

The Snapshot device will beep at you when you have a "Hard Brake" and for most people this isn't much of a bother. It helps increase safer driving habits by alerting you to when you are braking hard. Many people wouldn't realize how often they brake hard but this device can help create some safer driving habits. One potential risk is that you will find yourself trying to avoid hard braking and you may end up closer to someones bumper than you had planned. You will have to change more than your braking pattern in order to take more advantage of the discount program and to avoid collisions. Following distance and safe stopping distance are two key habits to learn in order to take advantage of the discount program. Accelerating towards those yellow lights will also need to be reduced.

I hope you find this information useful.

SOPA and How the entertainment industry can profit from Piracy

So this new bill called SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act) was a poor attempt to try to govern the internet. Now don't get me wrong i think Piracy is totally not cool, people work hard to bring you that entertainment. Does that stop me from doing it? Not so much. The simple fact is, it happens. I don't think all these people downloading songs, movies, tv shows and other entertainment are intentionally thinking I am going to steal from all this stuff. Doesn't make it any less wrong but it is how this age is running things. It is the age of free information and the sharing of anything you want. In a time where the internet is constantly asking us "What's on your mind" and "Share this with your friends", it's no wonder all this "piracy" is going on.

Here is my thought on it. It's not going to stop. We are moving forward and even with a Wikipedia black out we are not turning back to traditional ways of sharing information. We are an age of getting it right now. If you have so many people that pirate your property why not capitalize on that? I mean come on! We are Americans, the innovative thinkers of not doing things the same way. I am shocked that the entertainment industry is stuck so far in the past. Clearly the old way of selling vinyl records is not how this age is doing it. We are sharing it with all our friends. Peer to Peer. Record labels should love that their music is being shared and downloaded so much. The reason they aren't is because they don't see a dime from those downloads. Why not corner that market? There is money to be made here. Simply stopping access to certain websites is not going to even put a dent in illegal downloads. The nerds will find a way around it. Don't stop what is going on. There is a lot of good that can come from it.

I get it, it's copy right infringement, it's illegal, you shouldn't do it. The point is though that it is happening, no matter how many lawsuits you have. Down goes limewire but up comes frostwire. How can you capitalize on it? Give it away for free! Wait. What was that? Give it away for free? How does that solve anything? People can't steal or "pirate" what you have already given to them. I know what you're thinking, "There is no money in free!" That is where you are wrong. What are some of the biggest and best online companies? Facebook, YouTube, Google, Wikipedia, and tons more. What do they have in common? They are all free to their consumers! Why would you not follow the greatest examples of business? There is money there and tons of it. Can we get some free music and knock off this whole lawyer and gavel nonsense. Stop fighting your consumers. Market to them! They already love your product and are getting a hold of it without your knowledge. Give it to them and know where your hard work is going.

Now I couldn't offer a crazy idea like Free Entertainment without giving a viable solution for making money. Here is how you monetize this. I am going to provide a scenario, think outside the box here. You are the largest Record label with the top artist and you are making tons of money. Problem is there is millions of people that are just taking your hard work and enjoying it without paying you anything. That's not right. You should shut down all those millions of people from ever getting access to your products, right? Wrong. You should monetize those individuals and turn nothing into something. How? Give them what they want. Free music. Doesn't sound like it solved your issue does it? Wait for it. Launch a website that gives away your artist's music. Instantly have the top website in the world! It would cost major bank to get an ad up there and companies would kill for a spot on a page like that. Instant cash there and now you are getting paid for those free loaders. Don't stop there though. What's hot right now? Social networks! Produce a music network where everyone is sharing their favorite music and getting it for free. You have to have an account of course and with that account comes more marketing. Not only will you be able to build a profile of what's hot and what's not but you've now got a network of what's trending and what's being talked about. That's marketing gold!

There is more to this. You want to track your songs and where they are going. You want to know where that download goes once it leaves your page. Track devices that have to music installed on it and market to that. Track how much it is listened to and market that. It's easy! Simple code put into each song can organize all this data into simple marketing techniques. You would own the entertainment industry. Stop fighting your consumers and start giving them what they want. That will solve your Piracy problem.

It's that simple. No need to pass a bill. Just start making money. This is America, the birth place of the next best idea. So give up the fancy ties and suits and start owning the oil fields that have been untapped, "Pirates"!

Triple Monitors on a Dell Latitude e6520

I have just recently started using a triple monitor setup and I've got to say, it's pretty bomb. I've used 2 monitors before and never thought I would make use of a 3rd one, but low and behold I am addicted. Now i have a Dell latitude on a port replicator, a.k.a. docking station. Because of the way the computer is designed it can only support 2 monitors. On the physical computer it has a VGA output and a HDMI output. The port replicator has two DVI outputs and one VGA. Looking at it i assumed you could use three monitors easily. I was clearly wrong. The drivers installed only support 2 monitors. The solution is pretty simply but not the most reliable. Using a Star Tech USB to DVI adapter that creates another driver for the computer to install a 3rd monitor. So now I run 3 monitors, one on HDMI, one on VGA, and another using the USB to DVI adapter. The only problem is with the reliability of the adapter. It is relatively cheap (around $45) and does allow the third monitor but has displayed some problems coming out of sleep. Once Windows goes into sleep mode or the screen saver comes on the adapter has been known to not come back on. Solution usually is a restart of the computer or sometimes unplugging and plugging the adapter back in. While this creates the occasional inconvenience, the 3 monitor setup is awesome! A different solution may also be to get a better, more expensive adapter, however this solution works for me and I do enjoy having email on one screen, research on another, and documents I am working on the other. Highly effective and great for getting work done.

Update

This is due to a limitation of the video card that is in the 6510, 6520, 6530 models because they don’t have a discrete video card.  The new models 6540 have 2 video cards, the “run of the mill” Intel graphics card only supports 2 monitors but the discrete video card (Nvidia) that was added to these supports 3 or more monitors by itself.

If you order this make sure you get the discrete Nvidia cards.