Mobility a Crucial

If there’s one trend that is going to continue having an impact on a business’ technology, it’s mobility. People are simply doing more while mobile, having the technology to shop, manage their finances, and yes, work productively. Let’s pause and consider how a small business could leverage this mobility to its benefit.

Balancing Employee Expectations

With many employees demanding their small and medium-sized employers to enable mobile operations, this kind of mobility is swiftly becoming an essential need. Employees appreciate the convenience and accessibility of a smartphone, so in their eyes, implementing mobile functionality seems to be a no-brainer.

However, the perspective of the business is a little different. While the convenience aspect is certainly appreciated, businesses will typically prioritize data security. However, if this security can be locked down, so to speak, mobility is likely to be embraced.

Considerations to Account For

Just as with any IT implementation or improvement, you need to mull over a few factors before you dive head first into mobilized solutions. These factors will include:

Am I biting off more than I can chew?

Or in other words, are you setting realistic goals for your business? Charging in with a comprehensive mobile implementation with no checks on device usage is a recipe for disaster.

Instead of doing that, try to identify any issues you have that mobile functionality could help fix and design a tailored strategy to resolve them, specifically. While most mobile business tools are focused on collaboration and/or customer service, others are often introduced that could further expand these possibilities. Starting small and simple puts you in a better position to build upon these capabilities while maintaining control over your data.

What do I need to do to keep my business secure?

With additional devices suddenly seeking to access your network, multiple layers of security are going to be recommended. While passwords should always be required, it becomes even more important to encrypt your files against unwanted access. On a related note, you should also identify and implement solutions to encrypt data as it travels over the mobile network, as the security of these networks isn’t a sure thing.

In addition to these precautions, you’ll want to both back up the data stored on these mobile systems and implement management solutions as a prerequisite to their use. That way, should a device go missing, you can wipe the device remotely to protect the data it contains.

What will mobility mean for my business?

Finally, you need to know how your team can use their mobile devices, and how that will impact your own infrastructure adjustments. For example, is your team able to access data that is hosted locally? Will any cloud systems need multi-factor authentication enabled? How able is your IT administrator to address any issues pertaining to mobile devices?

In other words, in order to make mobility work in your business, you will need to have the right solutions and processes set up.

For assistance with this and your other assorted IT needs, give our team a call at (217) 428-6449! Network Solutions Unlimited is here to help your business however we can.