Tag Archives: consumerization of IT

FileMaker iOS Apps Are Easy To Build Alternatives To Native Apps

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FileMaker pitches its product line as an alternative to native iOS app development.

Last week FileMaker launched a new campaign to encourage businesses to adopt the company’s flagship database product line as an app development platform for the iPhone and iPad. The move is unique and the idea of FileMaker as an enterprise development solution does have its appeal – creating FileMaker apps requires no software development knowledge or experience and it can deliver native performance and functionality that HTML 5 web apps can’t.

The new campaign includes a white paper about the development life-cycle for FileMaker iOS apps as well as a 41 minute webinar that is available on-demand from Filmmaker’s website. The company also offers businesses or individual developers an iOS development kit that includes trial versions of the required FileMaker products as well as technical details and guides.

On its surface, the idea is extremely compelling. Although FileMaker is a powerful and scalable database solution, it’s also much easier to learn than to many other database options. Part of that is because FileMaker development is a very visual process – and one that offers a range of templates out of the box (additional templates and complete apps are also available from FileMaker developers). The result is that even non-technical users can create simple real-world databases with minimal training.

That’s a far cry from learning to create native iOS apps, which requires a solid understanding of the Objective-C programming language and Apple’s Xcode development environment.

FileMaker iOS apps let users access iOS device features including things like digital signatures and cameras that are beyond what web apps can offer. At the same time, however, FileMaker apps aren’t true native iOS apps. They are databases with dashboards and interfaces that run within the FileMaker Go app on an iOS device.

That approach actually has advantages, particularly when it comes to deployment and updates. With the iOS FileMaker Go app installed, iPhone/iPad users connect to a FileMaker Server that delivers the apps. New apps can be rolled out simply by adding them to the server and updates to existing apps are rolled out automatically as iOS users connect to the server. That’s a pretty simple and straightforward solution to the broader issue of mobile app management.

FileMaker ships iOS-specific templates that can be used to design apps that adhere to Apple’s design guidelines, which helps present a consistent native app style. FileMaker can also integrate with other database and enterprise systems and can securely encrypt data.

This solution is a great for small and mid-size business that need iOS apps for various tasks but don’t want to expend the resources to develop native apps in-house or by hiring an outside developer. It can also serve in larger organizations, though many large companies may prefer a more traditional app development model.

FileMaker apps aren’t a good fit for customer-facing solutions because they aren’t native or web apps and require users to have access to a FileMaker Server infrastructure. For internal apps or business-to-business apps, however, they are certainly worth considering and exploring.

Source: FileMaker
Image: FileMaker

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Three Critical Business Dilemmas The iPhone 5 Will Create [Feature]

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Even before its launch, the iPhone 5 is creating concerns and challenges for businesses and IT departments.

Apple will launch the next iPhone (presumably named the iPhone 5) along with iOS 6 tomorrow. The new iPhone is expected to pack a range of updates that will make it a much more significant release than last year’s iPhone 4S. The biggest expectation is that the iPhone will include 4G LTE support and that, unlike the new iPad, it will support LTE bands used outside of North America.

We won’t know all the details of the iPhone 5 until Apple’s unveiling at the Yerba Buena Center. There are, however, three important issues that business users and IT managers will need to in mind during and after following tomorrow’s launch event – all three of which could have a significant impact on bring your own device (BYOD) programs that encourage users to bring their personal mobile devices into the office.

LTE Is Great For Business, But Bad For Expense Management

LTE’s big boost for mobile professionals may come with big bills.

Apple is rather late to the 4G party, having launched its first LTE device a year or more after most other mobile device makers had begun to establish themselves in the 4G market. Now that the mobile industry has largely standardized on LTE as the future of mobile broadband, Apple has joined the party.

LTE is a significant boost for mobile professionals. The data transfer speeds are more than a simple order of magnitude better than those offer by 3G standards. That means that professionals on the go will be able to access Internet, cloud, and remote network resources at speeds comparable to or better than their home Wi-Fi network and, in some cases, their employer’s corporate Wi-Fi network. That’s a big boost in mobile productivity, particularly if carriers offer that offer tethering of other devices like Wi-Fi iPads, MacBooks, and PC notebooks at no additional cost.

That big boost, however, may also mean big bills. Although most carriers offer LTE plans comparable in price to their 3G data plans, LTE’s performance makes it easy to blow through data caps on those plans much more quickly. It also discourages the use of public Wi-Fi networks, particularly in locations where Wi-Fi coverage is spotty or slow. Why pay for or put up with a hotel’s sluggish connection when your LTE connection is five times as fast?

LTE on the iPhone 5 could drive up costs without better mobile management in iOS 6.

Those expenses pose challenges in business contexts. How can businesses manage corporate-owned iPhones in such a way that they allow LTE use when needed but curtail it when there are other alternatives? The current mobile device management (MDM) capabilities in iOS don’t offer a real solution. IT can disable voice and data roaming as well as disable some services while roaming like automatic sync with iCloud.

That’s a positive, but it doesn’t address the real problem – companies may want to limit LTE use when users are not roaming.

Similarly, MDM can configure multiple Wi-Fi networks and force a device to join those networks automatically when available, but that only works for setting up known networks. One option is to use a service like iPass that provides enterprise Wi-Fi at thousands of locations around the world, but even that may not be an available or effective solution all of the time.

LTE can discourage the use of public Wi-Fi by mobile employees on the go, which can drive mobile costs higher.

The picture gets even murkier with BYOD iPhones, particularly if there is cost sharing for data service. Employees may rack up overages primarily by using their devices for work, but personal use almost certainly contributes to those overages. Voice calls can be itemized expenses because the numbers for outgoing and incoming calls can be used to identify business calls. Data plans don’t present a way to do the same thing – after all, if you’re in New York for work and use LTE service for both work and personal tasks, there’s no easy way to separate the two, particularly if they happen simultaneously like checking work and personal email accounts at the same time.

Mobile Commerce Blurs The Line Between Personal and Professional

Mixing the personal and professional, Passbook raises questions about data sprawl and security.

There’s plenty of discussion around how and when Apple might enter the mobile payments market with an iPhone-based iWallet. Passbook in iOS 6 is definitely a step in this direction. Whether Apple will use NFC as its mobile payment technology like Google does isn’t certain. Apple could use scannable onscreen codes, location-based payments in the model of Square and Tabbedout, or even develop a payment system around existing technologies like Bluetooth.

Apple probably won’t introduce an iWallet feature tomorrow, but that doesn’t mean mobile commerce is off the table. After all, Passbook lets you manage a range of physical and electronic commerce features – boarding passes, coupons, movie tickets, reloadable gift/payment cards, merchant loyalty program cards and so forth.

Passbook may put personal and business data together in way that makes it hard to separate them down the road.

Passbook presents an interesting conundrum for devices that bridge our personal and professional worlds. Most of the items stored in Passbook will be personal, at least initially, but Passbook does have some business uses – airline boarding passes for business travel being the most obvious. Membership in a loyalty program for employers, like those provided by some office supply stores, is another one. Rewards programs that are personal but get used in association with business tasks like frequent flyer programs or gas station loyalty programs used with a company-owned (or rented) car are two other examples where there isn’t a clear personal/professional separation.

In mixing personal and professional programs in a single app, Passbook presents questions about what data is appropriate for a company to wipe on a lost iPhone or when an employee leaves the company. If Apple unveils a true digital wallet that can include credit and debit cards, that question and concern will be even greater if employees with company cards put them into their iPhone – not to mention if they accidentally use a company card to pay for a personal item.

Passbook data stored outside the company firewall is also a concern, be it through iCloud or backup of a device to a home computer. In fact, this could be one of the more serious implications of the phenomenon known as data sprawl in which mobile devices and cloud services lead to business data being stored across different devices and services with no central point of document or permissions management.

Passbook (and an iWallet feature) pose security concners for company finance data.

The Business Upgrade Cycle – Will Employees Get An iPhone 5?

Apple’s annual update cycle could fragment a company’s mobile security and management capabilities.

Apple has established a pretty predictable upgrade cycle for iOS. We can expect to see a new iPhone, iPad, and iOS version each year. Carriers, on the other hand, don’t offer a one-year cycle for subsidized devices. That means most iPhone users in the U.S. upgrade their iPhone every other year. Businesses, schools, and other organizations typically have slower upgrade cycles that often involves replacing technology every three or more years.

These out-of-sync upgrade cycles and Apple’s decision to offer older iPhones as entry-level models presents two potential issues in the workplace.

The first issue is one of employee morale. If employees are stuck with an iPhone 4 (or even an iPhone 3GS) and/or a first generation iPad while their coworkers are using an iPhone 5 and new iPad, there’s the potential for tension, hurt feelings, and employees questioning of why they didn’t get the newest work device. That doesn’t mean someone will go postal as a result of not getting a new iPhone. However, in today’s economy where raises are few and far between, perks like technology upgrades are one way that managers can show appreciation and build morale – and that shouldn’t be overlooked.

In today’s economy perks like new mobile devices can be an effective a way to build morale.

Obviously, offices with BYOD programs aren’t likely to have those same morale issues since employees can choose their own devices. That doesn’t mean that everything is rosy in the BYOD world.

Apple is notorious for cutting support for older devices in new OS and app releases – both in the desktop and mobile spaces. iOS 6 drops support for the original iPad and iOS 5 dropped support for the iPhone 3G. Even the devices that iOS 6 support won’t get all of the iOS 6 features. The iPhone 4 won’t get FaceTime over 3G or turn-by-turn navigation, for example.

This becomes an issue for businesses in both BYOD and traditional corporate-owned environments because it fragments the features available to employees. More important, it fragments the security and device management capabilities. If Apple includes a range of new security and management capabilities in iOS 6, companies with a large population of original iPads won’t have access to those improvements.

Is Apple’s push to leave the past behind it going to create fragementation and security concerns for businesses and business users?

Obviously, this issue is more about iOS than the iPhone 5, but it becomes an issue for companies (or individuals) choosing entry level or mid-range iPhones rather than more expensive brand-new models. If Apple drops the iPhone 4 to free with contract, as it did last year with the iPhone 3GS, a business user or company might see that as a great bargain – and it will be one, but one that may pose challenges a year or two from now.

Ultimately, these issues are part of the broader questions and concerns posed by the continuing consumerization of workplace technologies and the BYOD movement and, like many questions posed by those trends, there aren’t solid one size fits all answers.

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New Federal Rules Show The Impact of the iPhone and iPad on Healthcare

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The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services acknowledges the success of iPhones, iPads, and other mobile devices in healthcare in new EHR rules.

The success of devices like the iPhone and iPad in healthcare has become so pronounced that the Department of Health And Human Services has begun to single-out the use mobile devices as part of the meaningful use requirements for electronic health records (EHR) systems. In addition to identifying mobile device use, the agency has also taken steps towards explicitly regulating mobile device security needs in the healthcare industry.

The 2009 HITECH Act created a financial incentive system to encourage hospitals, medical practices, and other healthcare service providers to adopt electronic records. Facilities that accept Medicare and Medicaid payments can receive the incentive funds by implementing EHR and related systems like electronic prescribing. To ensure systems are used, HHS has established multiple stages of meaningful use objectives that facilities must meet to receive incentive funds.

This week, the federal agency released the official set of stage two meaningful use requirements, which will go into effect in 2014. A large portion of the stage two requirements focus on mandating more frequent use of EHRs and electronic health information exchange systems. For example, Doctors will be expected use digital systems to order lab work and diagnostic imaging for at least 30% of their patients.

Meaningful use rules for stage two come in two different documents, the CMS and ONC rules. Both documents include frequent references to smartphones, tablets, and mobile apps (the language is by and large generic and doesn’t specify mobile platforms like iOS and Android by name).

Some of the rules impact data security when stored on or accessed from a mobile device.

Requiring health-care providers to assess whether they need to encrypt protected health information data while at rest, in reaction to multiple breaches of PHI from mobile devices.

The general policy we express in this certification criterion requires EHR technology designed to locally store electronic health information on end-user devices to encrypt such information after use of EHR technology on those devices stops

Encryption is required for mobile devices, and EHRs must be able to create an audit log of such encryptions if the system allows local storage of data on the devices.

Other rules stipulate that some of the required use of digital systems can be met using mobile devices.

Requiring providers to use computerized physician order entry – which specifically can include a mobile device — for 60 percent of patients and 30 percent of laboratory and radiology orders.

The provider’s use of computer assistance to directly enter medical orders… from a computer or mobile device.

Still others describe how mobile technologies can be used for engaging patients and providing access to their records (stage two requires hospitals and practices to offer 5% of patients online access to their health data).

[S]ecure email, a secure portal, even some type of mobile application could all be examples for secure messaging methods that could potentially meet this certification criterion.

Vendors may develop mobile patient-engagement apps using technology that meets basic requirements for EHR certification, including secure email, portals and mobile applications using a variety of transport standards.

The frequency of the references and their specificity clearly highlights the increasing role that the iPhone, iPad, and other mobile technologies have in healthcare -  on the part of doctors, nurses, and hospitals as well as on the part of consumers. A recent study notes that 40% of mobile apps being developed today are related to healthcare or general health and wellness topics.

A related item that’s worth mentioning is that AirStrip, the company that highlighted remote patient monitoring during Apple’s WWDC keynote in 2009, announced this week that it will offer a tool to help hospitals and medical practices gauge their compliance with meaningful use requirements – a move that will help facilities ensure they receive incentive payments.

Source: MobiHealthNews
Via: NextGov

Image: iTab_Grip

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Horizon Mobile For iOS Will Separate Busines Apps And Data, But Will Apple Approve It?

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VMWare’s Horizon Mobile aims to complete separate your work apps and data from everything personal on your iPhone or iPad and secure them at the same time.

At VMWorld, this week VMWare showed of Horizon Mobile for iOS – an enterprise solution that separates business apps and content on an iOS device from a user’s personal apps, documents, and data. It’s an iOS version of a tool that VMWare previously demoed, but hasn’t yet shipped, for Android devices. While the name and the goal of Horizon mobile is essentially the same on both platforms, the company is taking a vastly different approach for iPhones and iPads.

Not only is the iOS approach different, it’s also nowhere near as revolutionary – other mobile enterprise companies have using similar approaches for a while and the one truly distinctive feature is one that Apple might not approve for distribution.

Horizon Mobile for Android is designed around the concept of virtualizing Android. The virtual instance of Android on a mobile phone (or other device) is configured and loaded with Android apps by a company’s IT department. The virtual instance of Android operates independently of the Android instance that is actually installed on the phone – different set of contacts, different apps, different files and documents – even a different phone number. The result is a completely separate and secure user experience – one that can be managed by IT and wiped off the device without touching personal content. The catch, VMWare announced Horizon Mobile for Android last year, but still hasn’t shipped it.

The iOS version uses completely different approach – one that is partly borne out of necessity. A swarm of flying pigs over every major city is, after all, far more likely than Apple letting VMWare virtualize iOS. Another reason for the different tactic that Ben Goodman, VMware’s Horizon evangelist, described to ConsumerizeIT’s Colin Steele is that creating an Android solution required finding a way to handle the fragmentation of Android devices and versions. Virtualizing Android and giving IT a consistent OS to manage seemed the logical approach.

How does the iOS version work? It creates an encrypted on-device storage area or workspace. Good Technology and Bitzer Mobile already use the approach to create secure storage on iOS devices. Both companies also provide secure apps as part of their solutions and Good has developed its own SDK that allows other iOS developers to integrate their apps into its secure storage model. Both companies also prevent data from being accessible outside the secure workspace and disable the ability to copy and paste into external apps.

It’s also worth mentioning that Apple actually introduced developer APIs related to security and encryption for on-device secure storage in iOS 4 a little over two years ago.

That’s why VMWare’s approach seems a little stale as an iOS solution. It almost seems like the company is playing catch-up to a certain extent.

The one feature that VMWare has created that does seem unique is the ability to install iOS apps, including apps from the App Store, into the secure workspace. According to Goodman, iOS doesn’t even see these apps.

That’s a pretty incredible feat, but it raises a big question that no one seems to have answered yet – what will Apple think of it? This certainly seems like something that Apple wouldn’t approve for release in the App Store because of the way that the secure workspace handles apps and that it requires installation apart from the App Store and possibly outside of Apple’s Volume Purchase Program.

Overall it’s hard to judge the impact VMWare might have with Horizon Mobile at this point, but as the demo video below illustrates, it could solve a lot of problems associated with BYOD (bring your own device) programs.

At this time, neither Horizon Mobile for iOS or Android are shipping products. More information can be found on the VMWare Office of the CTO blog.

Source: ConsumerizeIT

Image: CITEworld

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How To Deploy iOS 6 In Business The Right Way [Feature]

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iOS 6 has lots of business potential, but having a plan about rolling it out is critical.

With the release of iOS 6, Apple will offer business users a range of new features. A few of which are VIP email filtering (already in Mountain Lion) with custom notifications, more options when declining a phone call on the iPhone, much-needed privacy options, and Apple’s new Do Not Disturb feature – which should help some mobile professionals to “switch off” after work and maybe even get a good night’s sleep.

iOS updates are generally designed to be user-friendly and easy enough that anyone can manage to install them. As with any major OS or business critical software upgrade, however, there may be unforeseen issues with iOS 6 – particularly when it comes to internal iOS apps and iOS access to enterprise systems.

An iOS 6 upgrade policy and strategy is something that every IT department should have in place before Apple releases iOS 6. For businesses that actively support user devices in the workplace through a BYOD (bring your own device) program, that upgrade strategy is even more critical.

Test Developer Previews and GM Seed When It’s Released

The most important build to test with the GM build.

The easiest way to prepare for iOS 6 is to use it. Check out its new features, see how well various apps run, and connect it to your corporate network. Joining Apple’s iOS developer program provides you with access to the iOS 6 preview builds (along with the preview builds of Apple’s Xcode – the development environment for creating Mac and iOS apps). Enterprise organizations and business that are thinking about developing custom iOS apps for internal use will definitely want to join the $299 enterprise version of Apple’s developer program. Smaller organizations in which a single person handles all the mobile or iOS solutions and will be responsible for pre-release testing can probably manage with a $99 individual membership.

In addition access to iOS preview builds, the iOS developer program provides a wide range of resources for anyone (or any company) that wants to get started with iOS development including hundreds of training videos and WWDC sessions (2010 – 2012). Apple also offers its Safari developer program, which is free and, among other advantages, provides a range of resources for creating HTML 5 web apps for the iPhone and iPad.

Testing with the various preview builds will give you a good sense of how iOS 6 will function and how it will interact with enterprise systems and various apps. If additional preview builds are released, however, you’ll likely see changes to features and compatibility issues. Keeping track of those changes will help you get a clearer idea of how iOS will impact you and your users. Ultimately, the most important build to test with the GM (golden master) build since that’s the final build that Apple will release to the public.

Apple’s iOS developer program for enterprises offers companies a range of benefits.

Make A List Of Common Apps And Test Them

As part of your testing process, you’ll obviously want to test all the apps frequently used by employees in your company. If you use mobile app management (MAM) tools, offer an enterprise app store, or make use of Apple’s Volume Purchase Program (VPP), you’ll probably have a list of commonly used apps and/or required apps already.

If you don’t use such a system, you can use your mobile management solution to query any or all managed iOS devices for a list of installed apps. Your mobile management system may even be able to generate a report of the most used apps. If not, you can put the individual lists of apps into spreadsheet or database tool and use that to determine the most frequently used apps. You may also want to consider investing in a MAM solution as part of your mobile management strategy going forward.

Plan For App Updates

Keep in mind that many developers are already testing their apps and making updates in anticipation of iOS 6. Those updates may fix problems and improve how the apps run under iOS 6 and they will likely add support for new iOS 6 features. You generally won’t be able to test these apps until iOS 6 and the various updates go live. Many developers will have their apps ready to go the day iOS 6 launches. At that point, you should to do a final check with the updated apps.

You may want to consider MAM tools that can help you get those updates out to users more efficiently and ensure users get any critical updates. Alternatively, you could use a system like Apple Configurator to do mass deployment of iOS 6 and various apps (more on this in a bit).

Don’t forget about apps when considering an iOS 6 strategy.

Thoroughly Test Internal And Business-to-Business Apps

In addition to public apps, you’ll need to vet any internal apps that in-house or contract developers have created for your company. If updates needs to be made, you’ll need to determine if can be finished before iOS 6 launches. If not, you may want to postpone your internal roll out of iOS 6 if the apps are mission-critical tools. Likewise, if your company uses business-to-business (B2B) apps created by one or more of your partners, you’ll want to test the version that you have in use and reach out to the companies that created the app so that you know their update and support plans.

Test iPhone/iPad/iPod touch Accessories

If you have wide deployments of accessories that connect to iOS devices, you’ll to check those as well as apps. There are a range of accessories on the market for business use – everything from mass iPad storage and charging carts to Bluetooth headsets and keyboards to AirPrint printers (or print servers) to profession-specific devices. You’ll want to test them (and companion apps if they have them) with iOS 6 and reach out to the manufacturer if you find issues.

Make A List Of All Enterprise Systems iOS Device Users Access And Test Them

Along with testing iOS 6 with apps and accessories, you’ll want to test any enterprise systems that iPhone and iPad users may access. That includes your Wi-Fi network, Exchange server, VPN services, intranet site, cloud solutions, virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI), and any other systems or resources that you allow or support uses accessing from their devices.

It’s vital to test apps, business accessories, and enterprise systems with iOS 6.

Check With Your Mobile Management Vendor

Mobile management suites will almost certainly receive updates to iOS 6. They will be needed to support any changes Apple makes to its mobile management framework as part of iOS 6. You’ll want to check with your mobile management vendor(s) to see when they expect to release an update along with the changes that will be part of the update. Keep in mind that some changes may be things that Apple requires these companies to keep under wraps until iOS 6 ships, but your vendor should still be able to offer some details and help you plan an upgrade.

Consider An iOS 6 Pilot Group

A pilot project helps you plan support procedures and training documents.

One useful testing option is to do a short iOS 6 pilot project. Select a handful of tech-savvy users and update their iOS devices to iOS 6 once the GM build is released (you’ll need to have an enterprise developer membership to do this). Have them use it for a few days or a couple of weeks and report feedback about issues and feature changes. Not only does help you vet iOS 6, it also helps you plan support procedures and training documents.

You should use corporate-owned devices for a pilot. Once devices are upgraded to iOS 6 or the iOS 6 preview builds, they cannot be downgraded to iOS 5. As such, the process is making a permanent change to a device – you don’t really want to do that to something your business doesn’t own. If you do choose to use BYOD devices in the pilot, you should ensure that their owners understand this issue and have a record that shows they have chosen to accept any risks.

Decide Whether To Do Managed Upgrades Or Let Users Upgrade On Their Own

The big decision about a major upgrade like iOS 6 is whether you’ll let employees manage the upgrade on their own or whether you’ll have IT staff perform the upgrade for them. As I noted earlier, iOS updates are easy to perform and most users can manage that process on their own.

You can, however, use a managed upgrade process to deliver more than just iOS 6. You can include app updates (internal, B2B, or public) as part of the upgrade. You can introduce any new mobility policies as part of the process and use it as an education opportunity to explain those policies and the importance of mobile and data security. Given that many workers deliberately bypass IT policies and mechanisms, this opportunity has the potential to pay dividends of better compliance and understanding. Along the same concept, such upgrades can be mini-training sessions for users and can also be a good chance to get feedback about how IT is doing in supporting users.

You can also use a managed upgrade to do some spring cleaning of company-owned iOS devices. Rather than simply backing up a device and then updating it, you could use a tool like Apple Configurator to backup the device, wipe it, update it to iOS 6, and install a fresh set of apps (including new iOS 6 versions of them). Configurator, despite the fact that it requires some hands-on action, is a good choice because it allows you to install apps without associating them with a user’s Apple ID. As such, it can reclaim volume purchased app licenses if the user leaves the company.

Apple Configurator can handle device backup, spring cleaning, iOS 6 installation, and loading of apps in a few easy steps.

On the other hand, a managed upgrade is resource intensive. The advantages may be worth it or the sheer staff and time requirements may simply be too much. In that case, you may want to let users upgrade devices on their own. If you go that route, you should develop a training/support document that tells people how to perform the upgrade – including backup the device (ideally to a work computer rather than a personal one or iCloud). You can also tell them to delay upgrading if you’ve discovered any issues with iOS 6.

Challenges With BYOD Devices

BYOD devices represent a unique challenge. They are a user’s personal device, so the decision to upgrade to iOS 6, when to do it, and how to do it are user prerogatives. That said, your BYOD policies may state that they should not do so without checking with IT staff first. Ultimately, the big concerns with BYOD users managing the upgrade on their own are whether or not they back the devices to a personal computer (or iCloud) and whether they will do it before you’ve ensured iOS 6 functions properly in your environment (or corrected any issues you find). You also don’t want to do any spring cleaning as you might with company-owned devices.

BYOD offers advantages, but it puts IT in a tough spot when it comes to iOS upgrades.

Policies, Training, and Support

Several iOS 6 features may require updates to existing IT policies governing iOS devices. Acceptable use policies, employee availability requirements, liability issues associated with upgrading employee-owned devices, and overall BYOD policies may all need changes. In the process of determining what, if any, changes need to be made, you may want to review the existing policies and make updates that aren’t directly related to iOS 6.

You’ll also want to develop training resources that introduce users to the new features of iOS, how those features impact their devices at work, and note any issues or potential issues you’ve discovered (and possibly work around solutions for them). It’s also a good idea to provide some general iOS 6 support documents for common problems and how to handle them.

Finally, you’ll want to ensure there’s plenty of support available around the iOS 6 launch to handle questions from users as well as problems they come across. This could mean having upgrade events, doing managed upgrades, offering a walk-in support clinic modeled after the Genius Bar in Apple retail stores, and ensuring help desk agents are on hand to meet the demand and are prepped to handle iOS issues.

iOS 6 “clinics” modeled after the Apple’s Genius Bar can be a great support option.

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Good Keeps Your Work From Spilling Over Into Your Personal Life On Your iPhone Or iPad

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The latest release of Good for Enterprise delivers more security and separation of work and personal data on an iPhone or iPad.

One of the first secure business solutions for the iPhone and iPad was Good for Enterprise, a secure collaboration tool that allows companies to separate business email, calendar, and contact systems from Apple’s standard Mail, Calendar, and Contacts apps. Going beyond simply separating work accounts and data from a user’s personal accounts, Good’s alternatives securely encrypt all data and must be unlocked using credentials other than the passcode used to unlock an iOS device.

Good released a significant update to Good for Enterprise this week, one that makes the solution more streamlined, user-friendly, and offers powerful new features – some of which are worth considering for their business functionality as well as their innate security.

Good for Enterprise uses a single collaboration app to plug into enterprise systems like a Microsoft Exchange server. Much like Outlook on a Mac or PC, that app provides access to email, calendar, and contact features. Good also includes a secure web browser as an alternative to Safari. An integrated content locker provides secure on-device storage of  business documents and files.

This week’s update provides a range of new and useful features for business users as well as security and management enhancements for IT.

  • A new user interface with streamlined navigation between components like email and calendar as well as a customizable navigation bar.
  • File attachment support for calendar events.
  • Secure camera app that allows users to snap photos of work events, meeting whiteboard contents, schematics, and other work-related images without worrying about them being accidentally uploaded to iCloud or grouped with personal photos.
  • Secure image sharing with other Good for Enterprise users.
  • The ability to sync tasks and to-dos with standard business solutions like Outlook and Lotus Notes.
  • Support for .MSG email attachments associated with an Exchange server.
  • The ability to view sub-folders of contacts associated with an Exchange Server.
  • Support for HTML 5 and pop-up windows in Good’s secure browser.
  • The ability to classify emails to reflect their sensitivity or confidentiality using categories like public, internal, or classified.
  • Support for encrypted email services on Lotus Domino servers.
  • The ability to import files and documents from third-party apps – a one-way feature that allows content from unsecured apps outside the Good sandbox to be brought into the secure storage locker but prevents data from being passed back to those apps.
  • Broader support for iOS mobile management capabilities.

The new version of Good for Enterprise is available from the App Store. Access to business and enterprise systems through Good for Enterprise requires Good’s enterprise server solutions.

Source: Good Technology

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Parallels Launches Crowdsourced “Apple In The Workplace Barometer”

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Parallels uses crowdsourcing to compare the Apple/BYOD friendliness of companies.

Ahead of the launch of Parallels Desktop 8, Parallels has launched a crowdsourced “Apple In The Workplace Barometer” that allows businesses or individual employees to see how their workplace ranks in terms of BYOD readiness for Macs, iOS devices, and other technologies. The site offers a quick and simple questionnaire that asks workers (or managers) about their work computing tasks, resources, and company-provided options. At the end of the survey, their company is plotted on a grid that measures active adoption of Apple technologies and active IT support for Macs, iPhones, and iPads.

Parallels divides companies ranked by the site into four categories – laggards, rookies, players, and leaders. A graph shows where companies were plotted following the survey. The graph displays user comments from the survey for each company plotted with the name of the person who took the survey and/or his or her company (if such information was provided).

The chart can also be filtered to show everyone who took the survey or worked in more specific job roles – IT professionals, manager, and general knowledge workers.

The site also provides information about deploying Parallels Desktop, Parallels Mobile for iOS, and Parallels Enterprise in the workplace.

Overall, the site is a fun look at how companies are or are not encouraging or supporting Mac and iOS device use by employees. The survey itself asks a number of questions that are essentially market research, which will no doubt be helpful to Parallels in tailoring new features in upcoming releases and updates as well as planning marketing campaigns.

That said the site can also offer IT leaders and management teams some insights into ways that they can better support Apple technologies in the workplace.

Source: Parallels

Image: Parallels

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Insomnia? Your iPad Could Be The Culprit

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New research suggest that iPad/tablet use before bed can cause sleep disorders and may raise your risk of other health problems.

It’s no real secret that bring your own device (BYOD) programs and the explosion of iPhones, iPads, and other mobile devices in the workplace have begun changing how we work, how we view work as a part of lives, and how much we work out of the office. A study earlier this year concluded that the average American worker using mobile technologies works seven hours outside of the office (essentially one business day) every week. A more recent study indicated some mobile professionals work even more – up to 20 hours each – during off hours thanks to BYOD programs.

One of the impacts this has one iPhone and iPad-toting professionals is a disruption from the traditional work/life balance that can make hard to fully “switch off” at the end of the day. Now there’s evidence that such a disruption can have a physical as well as a psychological impact on the human body.

Researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute’s Lighting Research Center recently studied the impact of backlit devices like the iPhone and iPad (along with almost every other piece of mobile technology) on the production of melatonin. Melatonin is a hormone produced by the pineal gland that helps regulate circadian rhythms by inducing drowsiness and lowering body temperature as a precursor to sleep. Melatonin capsules are commonly sold over the counter as a dietary supplement to aid people who have trouble falling asleep.

The researchers discovered that two hours of tablet use before bed can suppress melatonin production by up to 22%.

Reduced melatonin production has been associated with various physical health conditions, most notably trouble falling and staying asleep without disturbance (particularly in teens). It has also been associated with increased risk for conditions like diabetes and obesity as well as some mental health disorders – seasonal affective disorder (also known as seasonal depression) being the most notable.

The RPI study used a rather small group of participants – just 13 people. Substantiating a clear clinical link between iPad (or other tablet) use and insomnia or other conditions related to melatonin production will require additional research. That said, if you find you’re having trouble “switching off” at the end of the evening and/or having trouble falling asleep, avoiding your iPad or iPhone for a while before going to bed might be worth trying.

Source: Buffalo Business First

Image: MSNBC

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What IT Wants To See In iOS 6 [Feature]

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iOS 6 will deliver a lot of business features, but what about enterprise/IT integration?

It’s been over two years since Apple unveiled iOS 4 with mobile management features designed to make the iPhone and iPad a significantly better corporate citizen. During those years, the landscape of business and enterprise mobility has changed dramatically. RIM has collapsed and will never truly recover, Microsoft has doubled down on the interface it launched late in 2010 with no guarantee of success, and Android has become much more enterprise friendly. Perhaps more important is the fact that idea of mobile management and security has shifted from a focus on devices to a focus on securing data and managing mobile apps.

As all this has happened, Apple’s mobile management framework, which is the system that all mobile management vendors plug into in order to secure and manage iOS devices, has essentially stagnated. With iOS 6 on the horizon, lets look at the areas that Apple needs to address if it wants iOS to remain one of the preferred mobile platforms for business.

iOS 5 offered little improvement or expansion of the iOS mobile management capabilities.

All of Apple’s news for iOS 6 has largely focused on feature additions and changes aimed at consumers and, to a lesser degree, business users. The company has been mum on the subject of mobile management and enterprise features that may be included in the release. That isn’t entirely surprising. Apple kept pretty quiet about iOS 5′s handful of mobile management additions even after demoing iOS 5 at WWDC.

Those iOS 5 additions that Apple made were actually pretty minimal. There was the wholesale ability to disable Siri entirely or while an iOS device is locked. There was a similar heavy-handed set of iCloud restrictions – disable iCloud document syncing, disable device backup to a user’s iCloud account, and disable Photostream. Those restrictions offer no room for separating personal data from corporate data like disallowing documents from certain apps to sync while letting other apps that are purely for personal use to sync.

There were some additional capabilities that attempted to manage over the air app deployment and updates, but even those were pretty limited and required user responses rather than offering true automatic installation.

In the end, iOS 5 offered little improvement or expansion of the iOS mobile management capabilities. Given how tightly Apple controls what mobile management vendors are allowed to do when developing iOS management systems, there’s a real possibility that iOS will stagnate as an enterprise option without Apple keeping pace with the rest of the industry. Even setting aside the technical ramifications of iOS management stalling at a 2010 level, Apple will be reinforcing the opinion of many corporate executives and IT leaders that the company doesn’t care about its business and enterprise customers.

App Management

Hands down the most critical area that Apple needs to address is app management. Mobile App Management (MAM) has become a common acronym and buzz word in the IT world for a very good reason – it is an incredibly effective model for dealing with personal devices owned by employees but used at work as part of a bring your own device (BYOD) program as well corporate owned but personally enabled (COPE) devices that deliver many of the same benefits of BYOD.

App management encompasses multiple mobile security and management strategies. The most obvious being the ability to push apps out to mobile devices over the air. Apple tried to address this with iOS 5, but didn’t go far enough with the concept. Ideally, iOS 6 over the air installation will be fully automated and not require a user to accept app installation – a move that could ensure secure deployment of required and critically important apps (including internal apps not distributed by the App Store).

App management also means preventing the installation or use of certain apps, such as those that sync data to unapproved cloud services like Dropbox or those known to copy data without user consent. While Apple makes it easy to block install of all apps and enables mobile management to determine if unapproved apps are installed, these features should really be more granular and more effective in their operation.

Blocking the installation or use of apps that meet defined criteria like App Store categories, specific developers, or even text in the name of an app would be a welcome addition. Such functionality would also be a logical extension of the existing iOS option to block apps (and music, movies, and TV shows) based on content rating. Supporting automatic removal of blacklisted apps whether installed and paid for by the employee or employer would also be a helpful addition. While some vendors have worked around the limitations to approximate this functionality, a solution from Apple built into iOS would be a much better approach.

Hands down the most critical area that Apple needs to address is app management.

Enterprise app stores are another piece of the MAM puzzle. They can make apps available to users via an easy to use interface and can deliver both private internal apps as well as a curated list of public apps from the App Store. This is one area where third-party vendors actually deliver pretty impressive results. App licensing could be improved and would improve the existing solutions on the market (more on that in a bit), but it isn’t truly necessary for Apple to create its own enterprise app store solution.

More Traditional Volume Licensing Options

Next to offering more app management functionality, Apple really needs to revisit its Volume Purchase Program (VPP). The existing system is really little more than a sad compromise between the consumer App Store purchase process and the needs for businesses and schools to buy apps in bulk for distribution to iPhone and iPad users. The biggest flaw in the system is that once a VPP redemption code is used to install an app, it becomes worthless. IT cannot reclaim the license to install/run that app on another user’s device because that license becomes permanently associated with the user’s Apple ID. Apple Configurator can mitigate that flaw, but even Configurator doesn’t make the process easy. Configurator is also far too hands-on to be scalable to the needs of a large business.

If Apple is serious about maintaining the popularity that iOS has found in the workplace, the company really needs to address app licensing with a mechanism that ties apps installed using VPP redemption codes to the company and not to the individual (or the individual’s device).

Apple also really needs to address enterprise app licensing.

Pre-Configure and Enforce App Settings

One of the great features of Mac management is that administrators can define any system or application preferences that they feel is appropriate for users. Several preferences options are available in the management interfaces of OS X Server’s Workgroup Manager and Profile Manager, but any setting that can be defined in a system component or application’s .plist preferences file can be managed be managed as well. That offers amazing granular setup and management options.

Apple could expand this functionality to iOS devices. After all, the configuration profiles that manage Macs and iOS devices using Profile Manager are identical in many ways. Unfortunately, given the level of access control that Apple maintains over iOS, we’re not likely to see this capability any time soon despite the relative technical ease with which it could be implemented.

OS Level Content Lockers

The industry has shifted from locking down the device to locking down the data.

Now that we’ve tackled most of the app-related issues Apple needs to address, lets move on to talking about business documents and other data. The entire IT industry has been recalibrating the perception of mobile security since the phrase BYOD was coined and RIM began going down in flames. The locked-down BlackBerry with its 500+ security policies is no longer a realistic option in many workplaces.

With iOS mobile management supporting less than one tenth of the policy restrictions available from a BlackBerry Enterprise Server and the range of Android variations with different security capabilities on the market, the industry has shifted the key mobile security requirement from locking down the device to locking down the data on the device. One advantage of this approach is greater flexibility and satisfaction among users of managed iOS devices. When you only focus on securing corporate data, disabling some heavy-handed management features becomes a feasible option and it delivers a better user experience.

The question, of course, is how do you secure that content. Apple’s existing encryption APIs in iOS make it relatively easy for app developers to create a secure container or storage locker. Data stored in that locker is securely encrypted. To make that encryption truly useful, apps designed to create storage lockers require independent authentication using a user account and password or two factor authentication methods that are independent of the passcode used to unlock a device. Even if a thief gets the iPhone, guesses the passcode or bypasses it by attaching the iPhone to a computer, the business data in that storage locker remains secure.

Beyond locking sensitive data, developers creating storage locker solutions like Good and Bitzer Mobile can prevent files being copied out of the locker to cloud services or other iOS apps. They can also prevent text or other content being copied and pasted into other apps.

That’s very good security, but because it is at the app level, users may not be able to work with documents or files in other apps. Good has been building a developer platform around its locker technology called Good Dynamics and Bitzer has added document editing support. Those are good workarounds, but an OS level locker from Apple would be a far better solution because approved business apps could be either integrated with the locker technology or even stored in the locker themselves and therefore effectively sandboxed from apps outside the locker while able to copy and paste to other apps within it.

Granular iCloud and Siri Restrictions

Apple dropped the ball when it comes to managing Siri and iCloud under iOS 5.

At the beginning of this post, I pointed out the ways in which Apple dropped the ball when it comes to managing Siri and iCloud. With Siri gaining a range of new features (not to mention integration with in-dash auto systems), such a blunt off or on approach is severely limiting. If Siri becomes the ubiquitous part of daily life that Apple is aiming for, users will probably insist on some flexibility such as access to certain Siri commands or features like navigation or app launching. The tricky thing for Apple is determining a method that allows innocuous non-work Siri functionality but blocks Siri (and iOS and Mountain Lion dictation features) from transmitting sensitive data up to Apple’s servers for processing. What that might look like is a topic for speculation, but Apple will need to address it.

iCloud restrictions are also heavy-handed. Tying iCloud access into an app management approach, however, could be relatively easy. iOS lets mobile management systems query for installed apps. Expanding that with a blacklist that prevents business-related apps from syncing data to iCloud or a whitelist of apps that are approved to sync content should be relatively straightforward. Apple could even let administrators limit specific app data from being backed up to iCloud, but that would probably more challenging on a technical and administrative level.

Photostream also poses a potential problem for syncing photos, screenshots, and other data out of the office and onto Apple’s servers (and the devices of non-employee users thanks to shared Photostreams being introduced in iOS 6). One way around that could be creating a geofence around various work locations. Photos (and other images) geocoded with location data identifying them as having been taken on company grounds could then be identified and blocked from syncing.

Management Policies Based on Location

Speaking of geofencing, Apple could enable the use of geofences around offices or complexes to configure iOS management and access to corporate resources. When employees arrive at work, certain device features and apps become disabled while access to corporate Wi-Fi and network resources is enabled. When employees leave, access to those resources becomes disabled or shifts to more secure options like automatic VPN use. This is an approach that various mobile management vendors have already begun implementing, but a solution from Apple would enable broader use and consistent mechanisms for location-based management.

Privacy Settings Management

One excellent feature included in iOS 6 is that iOS apps need permission to access potentially confidential iOS data like contacts, calendar events and data, reminders, photos, Bluetooth device sharing, and Twitter and Facebook accounts. These privacy settings are an extension of how Apple already manages access to location data. Making it possible for IT departments to pre-set or enforce access restrictions on this type of data would be a great enterprise feature, particularly if those restrictions can be done on an app-by-app basis.

AirPlay, Apple TVs, AirPrint, and Bonjour

Earlier this year, a number of IT professionals at colleges and universities petitioned Apple to update its Bonjour automatic network discovery protocol along with related iOS technologies AirPlay and AirPrint. There were three parts to the complaint. First, the automatic discovery requests could bog down campus wireless networks. Second, the services can only discover resources on the same subnet as the device itself, which means the Wi-Fi network being used. Third, any devices support AirPlay, AirPrint, and Bonjour will be discovered and presented to iOS users.

Apple and third parties could handle these issues in a couple of ways. One approach being taken by networking vendors is to build Bonjour data routing and management into enterprise Wi-Fi access points and other network hardware. Another would be allowing IT departments to disable these self-discovery features on iOS devices and/or providing tools to pre-configure access to these services so that only specific devices like office printers or Apple TVs installed in classrooms or conferences are presented to users – ideally with support for routing across subnets.

Advanced Network Options And Security

Finally, Apple can and should broaden the network management options that IT can set for iOS devices. Options for AirPlay, VPN, and corporate Wi-Fi access are good starting points but many iOS devices connect to unsecure networks in coffee shops, libraries, hotels, and other places.

Beyond Wi-Fi there’s the are cost issues associated with data roaming and LTE access. LTE poses a particular challenge because it makes it so easy for iPad users (and soon iPhone users as well) to blow through data in a short span of time.

There are also certain types of data that it may be ideal to limit or prevent altogether – access to Netflix over a corporate network for example or potential network-borne threats. Offering more network configuration options and even a true iOS firewall would be an excellent security addition and it would go a long way towards iOS becoming the dominant mobile platform in business as well as education.

Apple can and should broaden the network management options that IT can set for iOS devices.

Will Apple ultimately deliver any of these suggestions? Hoping for all might be too much to ask, but certainly some of them have real potential to appear in iOS 6 or later iOS revisions.

 

 

 

 

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How The VA Eliminated Data Breaches On iPhones And Other Mobile Devices

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The VA’s mobile security chief offers IT leaders five excellent tips for securing mobile devices.

Like many federal agencies, the Department of Veterans Affairs has embarked on the journey of integrating iPhones and iPads as mobile solutions. The agency currently has 20,000 mobile devices that includes iPhones and iPads along with some BlackBerries and a small number of Android devices. Despite the range of devices, the VA has been very active in trying to eliminate mobile data breaches and, according to the VA’s director of Mobile and Security Assurance Donald Kachman, the agency’s campaign has been extremely successful.

Kachman credits encryption technologies with as a major factor in that success – 99% of all VA data is now secured around the clock on mobile devices and desktop PCs. The security approach is one that can be a model for any organization.Encrypting data at all times, which is crucial given the sensitive nature of personal information that the VA handles, is just one of the policies that Kachman has implemented. In a recent interview with AOL Government, he offered five key guidelines that every company should consider implementing as part of its mobile strategy.

  • When a VA device is lost, a user has one hour to report the missing device to the information security team. The data can be wiped off the device by the team and reinstated if the device is recovered.
  • Every device must be encrypted.
  • Use the software feature that prevents a screen from being copied, photographed or forwarded.
  • Make sure a complex password is used that includes letters, numbers and symbols. Make sure it’s changed every three months.
  • Adequate training is essential. The VA requires every employee to go through refresher training every year, and if they run over the one-year deadline to schedule training, they are locked out of the system.

Of those guidelines, one of the most important is the focus on training. Training and user education are areas where many organizations don’t measure up when it comes to rolling out mobile and bring your own device (BYOD) programs.

Source: AOL Government
Via: MaaSters Blog

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