Wavelink Blog

CIO Challenge with BYOD: Don’t Fall Down the Rabbit Hole

by Wavelink - on May 18, 2012

A recent slew of surveys about the bring your own device trend portray a topsy-turvy computing world shaping up in the enterprise. The CIO’s ultimate challenge is to prevent the very real world of BYOD from becoming surreal.

When Alice fell down the rabbit hole, she emerged into a Wonderland of oddities: trapped in a shrinking body with talking animals, mad tea parties, and a Queen of Hearts who shouts, “Off with her head.”

Mobile BYOD may not be that fantastical, nevertheless contradictions appear at every turn. It’s a nonsensical world where employees and even outside contractors tell techies what to do, touch-screen consumer gadgets goose sales, Androids attack with malware, and Apple reigns over the enterprise.

CIOs must feel a little like Alice.

Mobile BYOD, or bring-your-own-device, is one of the hottest trends in technology today. Employees are pushing IT to support their personal smartphones and tablets at work. They want these consumer devices to tap into the corporate network, run critical apps and access sensitive data.

Alice was all alone in Wonderland, but CIOs in mobile BYOD are not. In results of a survey of 600 U.S. IT and business leaders released this week, Cisco reported “a staggering 95 percent” of respondents permit employee-owned devices in the workplace. Virtualization giant VMware recently went “all-in” with BYOD smartphones for its employees.

Mobile BYOD is happening even behind closed doors. Juniper Networks surveyed more than 4,000 mobile-device users and professionals. The surprise finding: 41 percent of all respondents who use their personal devices for work are doing so without permission from the company.

So what’s driving the mobile BYOD sea change?

Business people claim that they’re more productive with smartphones and tablets of their choosing. The Cisco survey appears to back them up, surmising that worker productivity rises with mobile BYOD adoption with annual benefits ranging from $300 to $1,300 per employee depending on job function.

Road warrior salespeople are at the high-end of the benefits scale. They are intimately familiar with their iPhones and iPads, for instance, and can use them to great advantage while calling on customers. (For more on this, check out Are BYOD Workers More Productive?)

“It’s the blend of the smartphone and tablets that are continuing to drive productivity benefits,” says Joseph Bradley, chief economic officer at Cisco’s Internet business solutions group, which conducted the study. “They empower employees who are closer to the customer.”

Among professionals, iOS devices surpass Android devices, according to a study conducted earlier this month by Zscaler ThreatlabZ. Among consumers, Android smartphones collectively match or outsell iPhones. It’s another bizzaro twist in the mobile BYOD world where everything seems out of sorts.

Awesome videos highlight unique features of the Digium phones!

by Wavelink - on May 18, 2012

You asked for it – you got it, Digium have introduced their IP Phones!

Digium have created short phone feature videos that introduce the phones, highlight menus, settings, configuration and more.

The built-in Switchvox applications for Digium phones allow you to access your parked calls, interactive voicemail, call logs, call queue details, as well as monitor, record and conference calls directly from your desk phone.

These three are one of the many short videos designed to help you understand the features and its configuration.

 

 

 

 

Zenprise for Mobile Device Management

by Wavelink - on May 17, 2012

Your IT department has gotten employee onboarding down to a science…until people started bringing devices that don’t like to follow the rules. The world has gone mobile, and you want to say “yes” to mobile devices at work, but need a way to secure and manage them with an easy-to-use solution. Learn why Zenprise is the leader in secure mobile device management with this short video.

Zenprise Mobile Security Intelligence

by Wavelink - on May 17, 2012

Short description and demo of Zenprise Mobile Device Management capability called Mobile Security Intelligence that offers visibility into mobile activity and potential mobile threats, integrates with SIEM solutions such as HP ArcSight, RSA enVision, Q1 Labs, and Splunk, and enables organizations to prove compliance with their mobile policies.

Zenprise Mobile DLP

by Wavelink - on May 17, 2012

Overview Demo of Zenprise Mobile DLP

Angry Birds tops companies’ app blacklist

by Wavelink - on May 16, 2012

It seems that your boss doesn’t want you to launch digital birds at evil green pigs during office hours.

Research released today by mobile device management firm Zenprise found that Angry Birds was the most-blacklisted application   among users enrolled in its Zencloud MDM service. Other mobile apps that companies blocked their employees from using at work   include Facebook, Google Play, Dropbox, YouTube and Skype, Zenprise found. Interestingly, Zenprise also found that Skype was   the most whitelisted app among its customers, thus making it the top app to appear on companies’ blacklists and whitelists.

Zenprise also notes that companies have gotten a lot busier when it comes to blacklisting apps, as the firm reports “seeing   more than three times as many blacklisted apps in Q1 than in our last report” released earlier this year. Zenprise says that   companies have been a lot more proactive in blocking apps that pose potential security threats over the past quarter, including Dropbox, Evernote and Cydia.

In addition to its findings on app blacklisting, Zenprise has also found a surge in Windows Mobile users among its North American clients over the past quarter. For the quarter, Windows Mobile devices accounted for   22% of devices enrolled in Zencloud on the quarter, up from 13% of all devices on the MDM service in the fourth quarter of   2011. The report showed a corresponding decline in Android devices supported on Zencloud as well, as Android phones represented 26% of all North American devices on the service in   Q1 2012, down from 35% in Q4 2011. Apple’s iOS held steady quarter-over-quarter as its devices accounted for 52% of North American devices on Zencloud in the last   quarter, unchanged from the share reported in Q4 2011.

Zenprise speculates that the rise of Windows Mobile devices in North American businesses has a lot to do with IT departments’   overall familiarity with both Microsoft and Windows. Specifically, Zenprise says that Windows Mobile devices come better equipped to handle enterprise tasks than   competing devices.

“Many of these Windows Mobile devices are ruggedized devices for business process workflow-type apps,” Zenprise writes in   its analysis. “The trend of organizations providing company-owned devices for line-of-business applications is occurring even while many of the same customers are pursuing a ‘bring your own device’ program in parallel.”

Our Head Is In The Cloud

by Zenprise - on May 16, 2012

Posted by: Jamie Barnett

May 15 2012

Our head is in the cloud. The mobile cloud that is. And who knew we could actually learn something about mobile device management and mobile application management best practices from putting our head in the cloud?

We looked at data gathered from our ZencloudTM aggregate deployments and found what mobile policies and applications organizations are deploying, what apps they’re blacklisting and whitelisting, and what advanced MDM features they’re using.

In Zencloud, where the mobile device breakdown is 52% iOS, 31% Android, 17% Windows Mobile, and 0.2% Symbian globally, the most common mobile apps organizations are deploying or pushing as part of their enterprise app stores include Salesforce.com, WebEx, Adobe, Concur, Xora, Keynote, and RSA SecureID. More companies are blacklisting and whitelisting this quarter, and they’re also blacklisting and whitelisting a broader number of apps than when we measured last quarter. And it appears they have an increasing focus on security vs. productivity in their app blacklisting practices this quarter vs. last.

This quarter we were not surprised to see passcode and VPN policies grow in numbers, with 47% and 26% organizations deploying respectively, and we were encouraged to see some slightly more sophisticated policies like two-factor authentication and GPS gain traction, at 23% and 24% respectively.

We were excited to see accelerating use of advanced capabilities like Zenprise Mobile DLP for secure content distribution, with 15% of companies with iOS devices taking advantage of this feature.
Check out our infographic highlighting findings from Zencloud. And feel free to use it. Go ahead, put your head in the clouds too.

Any surprises for you here? What policies are you deploying, and what apps are you blacklisting or whitelisting? Are you setting and enforcing DLP policies?

 

Zenprise Mobile Device Management Cloud Report - Q1 2012

Polycom divestment of their Enterprise Wireless Solutions presents new opportunities for Wavelink

by Wavelink - on May 16, 2012

                                                      MEDIA RELEASE

Polycom divestment of their Enterprise Wireless Solutions presents new opportunities for Wavelink

Business as usual as SpectraLink Wi-Fi and KIRK DECT solutions become an independent company

May 16, 2012 – Wavelink, a value added distributor of business IP, wireless, communication and network security and access solutions sees a number of opportunities arising from the recently announced divestment by Polycom of their Enterprise Solutions (EWS) business.

The intent to sell the EWS portfolio, comprised of SpectraLink Wi-Fi and KIRK DECT solutions, infrastructure and accessories, to an affiliate of Sun Capital Partners, Inc. was announced by Polycom on May 10.

With the transfer of ownership expected to be completed in Q3, 2012, the former Polycom EWS business will become an independent company. The divestiture will leverage the expertise of the SpectraLink and KIRK enterprise wireless teams, delivering improved support to the unique needs of Polycom’s customers.

Ilan Rubin, Managing Director, Wavelink, said, “Wavelink commenced sales of KIRK DECT in 1998 and was selling SpectraLink Wi-Fi well before both brands were acquired by Polycom in 2007. We have over 5,000 wireless voice systems installed throughout Australia and New Zealand. We will continue to sell, support and build programs around the EWS products to ensure that our channel partners, and customers, have access to the best solutions to meet their needs. The EWS products are recognised market leaders and will form an important part of Wavelink’s business for many years to come.

“As Polycom have acknowledged, their successes in the videoconferencing space have taken attention away from their EWS products. We expect that not only will there now be greater focus, but also more investment in the business including in product development and marketing. Wavelink will also have much tighter direct engagement with the supplier. The new independent company will ultimately yield more opportunities and better outcomes for Wavelink’s channel partners and customers.”

Sten Dyrmose, Vice President and General Manager, EWS said “The team expects to build on our successes and continue to develop comprehensive enterprise wireless solutions. By combining the expertise of both teams, we believe we’ll have one laser-focused organisation that will thrive, innovate, and drive new solutions into the market faster than our competition.

“We will lead this global organisation, with functional teams consisting of Sales, Global Services, Global Alliances, Operations, Product Management and Marketing, Finance, and Research and Development. As part of our strategy for the future, we plan to continue to enrich our portfolio of products, services and software. In 2012, our goals are to have an intense focus on verticals markets, increased sales and channel support, and improved communications for customer support issues. We also plan to dedicate resources to providing more value-added applications and services for the Wi-Fi and DECT lines.”

Gateways In Action: How To Avoid Annoying Dinosaurs With Forklifts

by Digium - on May 16, 2012

ssokol May 15th, 2012

PBX systems are generally viewed as a long-term investment. According to the industry mavens who track buying trends, most companies refresh their voice communications technology about once every 10 years – generally when moving to a new location or when some kind of tragedy strikes the old system. Compared with computers, which tend to be replaced every 36 months, PBXs move at a glacial pace. Why the slow roll on the phone gear? Because changing out the old in favor of the new is disruptive, expensive and historically didn’t bring much of a value-add to the company. But as the man said, the times – they are ‘a changing.

Today, there are several excellent reasons to ditch the old PBX dinosaur in favor of one of the many mammals that have recently appeared on the market. Top among those is Voice over IP (VoIP). Rather than requiring a separate phone line or channel for each phone call, VoIP uses a much more efficient means of moving your voice from one place to another. In a VoIP system, the audio gets converted into data and is sent across a data network (most often the Internet). It uses the same pipes as your email, IM and web packets. Once voice is turned into data it can do some pretty cool stuff. It can connect multiple locations together for free. It can tie-in remote employees anywhere in the world. Most intriguingly, it can let you give the local phone company the big heave-ho, replacing their overpriced lines with a less costly service from an Internet Telephony Service Provider (ITSP) or competitive carrier.

How does this relate to dinosaurs and forklifts? Well, in some cases it just doesn’t make sense to crank up the forklift and heave the old PBX beast out the door. Perhaps it’s been tied into your workflow. Maybe your staff just loves those avocado green phones from 1978. Or perhaps you just don’t want to spend the gobs of money it will take to replace it. Fair enough. If any of those cases is true for you and yours, what you really need is a Digium VoIP gateway. A gateway is a small box that hooks to the data network on one side, and to your PBX on the other. It speaks T1 (or E1, if you happen to be outside the US) to the dinosaur while speaking SIP (the most common flavor of VoIP) to an ITSP, remote worker or location.

The Digium VoIP Gateway looks just like the evil old phone company to your evil old PBX. It will never know the difference. But just on the other side of the cable, the gateway is quietly converting the phone calls into VoIP calls and routing them across the Internet. The gateway is a clever little thing. You can set it up to send calls to various destinations based on the number dialed. That way you can set up free calling between your locations (a function frequently called “toll bypass”) and discount calling to outside destinations using a ITSP. Depending on how much calling your business does, this can reduce your monthly phone costs by as much as half. All without engaging the services of the forklift or annoying the dinosaur.

For more information on Digium gateways, register for this free webinar, “Gateway To Paradise: Discover Digium’s New VoIP Gateways.” The webinar provides practical tips to make VoIP installations easier for you. You can also learn more about Digium gateways with this free e-guide that you can download now. (And if you think it may be time to shoo the dinosaurs out of your life, take a gander at Switchvox , our IP PBX and Unified Communications system.)

About the Author


ssokol

Steven Sokol is the Asterisk Marketing Director at Digium. He joined the firm in the summer of 2007 when his company, Sokol Associates, was acquired. While at Sokol Associates he developed and marketed the Asterisk Bootcamp, a highly successful training program for Asterisk users and administrators and managed a staff of Asterisk consul… more about ssokol

Are Smartphones Good or Evil?

by Zenprise - on May 15, 2012

Posted by: Harold Byun


Would you be able to tell the difference? Or, more importantly, could you tell the difference between a good user and a bad one? In the face of foreign incursion and innovative malware attacks, largely introduced through social engineering, the ability to balance user choice/freedom with enterprise security requirements presents a bit of a dilemma. The reality is that smartphones obviously aren’t bad and neither are most users, but the lack of visibility into what is going on on mobile devices and what users are doing with them is.

Many of our customers have realized that they can no longer simply say no to embracing new mobile platforms. This is very reminiscent of how IT tried to say no to WiFi a decade ago, but the convenience factor along with enhanced security led to a ubiquitous WiFi presence. Mobile adoption and the “Bring Your Own Device” (BYOD) trend is quickly heading along the same path.

The reality, today, is that end-users and consumers are increasingly making the call on what platforms they want to run and what tools they want to use. Never before have end-users gotten to decide when to upgrade their OS platform and to which version, but that is exactly what is occurring now. It clearly suggests that the expectations on technology and on an IT’s ability to support mobile devices has changed.

Under normal conditions, supporting the new mobile platforms might not be so problematic, but with limited visibility into mobile user behavior and even further limitations on controlling data on the devices, enterprise security is left exposed. Devices can connect and disconnect, and transfer data over multiple egress channels. And that doesn’t even account for what is installed on the device.

These types of gaps are why it is critical for organizations to consider how their mobile management capabilities align with their broader security and data management strategies. It’s easy to think that lock and wipe and app push are enough, but any company halfway serious about security should consider the following:

  • Can your mobile solution identify users and IP addresses to integrate with a broader security event or analysis solution?
  • Can you secure corporate documents on a device?
  • Can the solution prevent apps from running on an open mobile system?
  • Does the solution provide basic security architecture such as real-time support for LDAP without caching AD?

These points may seem like no-brainers, but the reality is that mobile is a big deal. Your users want it, businesses want to support it and every vendor out there wants a piece of it. In the race to get there, a lot of times some pretty basic fundamentals simply get overlooked or glossed over. When it comes to mobile security, you would do well to double-click on what’s being advertised as “secure”.

I think smartphones and tablets offer a lot of potential and are pretty cool from a technology gadget perspective. They’re certainly not evil, but the fallout from users invisibly connecting to the enterprise could certainly have an impact that is less than good. What have you done to get more visibility into mobile behavior and analytics?

 

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