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It is the data, not the device

BYOD (bring your own device) has undoubtedly brought about a change in the role of the IT department. The new trend threatens to create havoc with IT, with too many devices to keep track of and the potential for data to leak from the organisation. It does, however, force a shift in mindset for the IT manager.

The IT manager has the opportunity to redefine his/her role as the custodian of corporate data, managing information not devices. It is this shift in focus to managing data – rather than devices – that turns the headache into an opportunity. Cloud technology creates a shift from enforcer to enabler and CIOs should be aware of the opportunity this affords the IT department.

Heino Gevers

As cloud becomes more prolific, businesses will have the confidence of emerging best practice and security standards such as the ISO 27001 and the Cloud Security Alliance (CSA) Security, Trust, Assurance Registry (STAR). These standards provide organisations with the reassurance they need to entrust their data to the cloud and free IT departments up to focusing on the data analysis.

Data security in the era of BYOD need not be a hindrance. In fact, CIOs should be enabling the business to get the most from its data, irrespective of the device.

BYOD is happening whether IT likes it or not. There is bottom-up influence from workers bringing their personal devices and using them for work purposes, as well as using personal e-mail accounts to get their work done. This situation is making it almost impossible for IT to continue to control workers and their devices in this new world.

The traditional and perhaps current, but changing mindset of IT is one of problem solving and damage limitation. And this is how e-mail has come to be viewed over the years.

A business needs to carry on regardless of who is in it, or who has been in it. This means that the decisions which end-users make in terms of technology and the devices they use during their employment (supplied or owned) should be applied in such a way that the business information assets can survive the staff turnover. Once again, the key is in the data, not the device.

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