BYOD: Where Future Lies

Bring Your own device (BYOD) is a simple term which is seeing considerable traction with global enterprises but when it comes to their Indian counterparts there are some nagging concerns which are borne out of budget constraints or the whole concept is overlooked owing to the complexities that it carries.

Global BYOD market is expected to grow from $67.21 billion in 2011 to $181.39 billion by 2017, at an estimated CAGR of 15.17 per cent from 2012 to 2017. Interestingly, India as a market does not come into prominence with regards to BYOD compared to its counterparts.

North America commanded the largest share; i.e., 36.1 per cent of the overall managed BYOD and Enterprise Mobility Market back in 2011 at $24.26 billion, which is expected to reach $58.60 billion by 2017, at a CAGR of 12.9 per cent from 2012 to 2017.

To give you a better idea of BYOD in the country, we recently conducted an online poll asking users whether their organization has a BYOD strategy and not surprisingly, majority (63 per cent) of them said they don't, while 31 per cent are abreast with BYOD and the remaining do not have a clue as to whether BYOD exists in their company or not. According to Akash Mainra, manager, enterprise sales, BlackBerry, India, the company has 25,000 (as of September 2013) global clients using BlackBerry enterprise services (both BlackBerry Balance and Secure Work Space) across markets, however, he did not specify India's contingent in the same.

According research findings, IT professionals in India resist the BYOD trend. India is said to be among first country among its global contingent to prohibit BYOD as nearly half (46 per cent) of Indian enterprises have managed to deploy BYOD policies that restrict the use of personal/own devices for work purpose. Other than in India, enterprises in Europe (39 per cent), China (30 per cent) and the US (29 per cent) also believe in safety-first approach.

Before embarking on the BYOD adoption journey, CIOs and CSOs today must consider adopting the appropriate mobile device management (MDM) solutions.

BYOD implemented by Indiabulls

Indiabulls deployed BlackBerry 7 based smartphones, integrated with BlackBerry Balance software, to a select group of employees. IB Technology was brought in as the solution provider responsible for carrying out the implementation.

The BlackBerry Enterprise Server's IT policies along with the features built into the handheld software help keep personal information separate and business data secure. Corporate data cannot be copied and pasted into personal applications or email messages and any lost or stolen devices can be disabled and wiped remotely.

These features have helped provide assurance to the executives at Indiabulls that important corporate data is protected. All the while, the users with BlackBerry Balance enjoy the benefit of consumer-oriented features, such as, the freedom to download applications, create and manage their personal contact lists and calendars and stay connected through their email and social media accounts.

Overall, the BlackBerry Balance technology has allowed employees and IT administrator at Indiabulls to customize their devices to suit each other's needs.