THE STATE OF IT Consumerization An exclusive survey finds IT managers at growing businesses trying to balance the rewards and risks of ubiquitous, easy-to- use mobile solutions. Mobility Trends in SMBs Sponsored by F ew organizations are better positioned to reap the rewards — or face the risks — of “IT consumeriza- tion” than small and midsize businesses. After all, the move to incorporate consumer-oriented mobile hardware and software into the workplace has been spreading quickly among SMBs, partly because senior managers can green-light these new tools without the multilayered approval processes that’s more common in large enterprises. On the plus side, this means agile SMBs can take advantage of the latest tablets, smartphones and ultrabooks to satisfy the preferences of staff members and enhance their productivity with anywhere, anytime access to critical information. Examples are springing up across the country. Case in point: Service reps at Mercedes-Benz of Memphis, Tenn., a local dealership, use tablets to whisk clients through the check-in process as they By Alan Joch Executive Summary Small and midsize businesses (SMBs) are moving to incorporate consumer-oriented mobile hardware and software into their business operations. These tablets, smartphones and ultrabooks can give staff members the tools to work more productively anywhere, with anytime access to critical information that can improve customer service and avoid bottlenecks in business processes. But SMB IT managers express concerns about data security and device management, two areas where technologies and policies are still evolving to fully meet today’s business needs. New UBM TechWeb research brings the pros and cons of ubiquitous mobility into clear focus. SMB executives in a cross-section of industries reveal how they’re coping with IT consumerization today, and what moves they’re planning for the future. Although the executives voiced a range of hopes and concerns, one overriding theme emerged — the true value of IT consumerization emerges when it becomes part of a larger strategic plan to reduce overall costs, attract and retain more customers, and sharpen an SMB’s competitive edge.
Transcript
THE STATE OF
IT Consumerization
An exclusive survey finds IT managers at growing businesses trying to balance the rewards and risks of ubiquitous, easy-to-use mobile solutions.
Mobility Trendsin SMBs
Sponsored by
F ew organizations are better positioned to reap the rewards — or face the risks — of “IT consumeriza-tion” than small and midsize businesses. After all,
the move to incorporate consumer-oriented mobile hardware and software into the workplace has been spreading quickly among SMBs, partly because senior managers can green-light these new tools without the multilayered approval processes that’s more common in large enterprises.
On the plus side, this means agile SMBs can take advantage of the latest tablets, smartphones and ultrabooks to satisfy the preferences of staff members and enhance their productivity with anywhere, anytime access to critical information. Examples are springing up across the country. Case in point: Service reps at Mercedes-Benz of Memphis, Tenn., a local dealership, use tablets to whisk clients through the check-in process as they
By Alan Joch
Executive Summary
Small and midsize businesses (SMBs) are moving to incorporate consumer-oriented mobile hardware and software into their business operations. These tablets, smartphones and ultrabooks can give staff members the tools to work more productively anywhere, with anytime access to critical information that can improve customer service and avoid bottlenecks in business processes. But SMB IT managers express concerns about data security and device management, two areas where technologies and policies are still evolving to fully meet today’s business needs.
New UBM TechWeb research brings the pros and cons of ubiquitous mobility into clear focus. SMB executives in a cross-section of industries reveal how they’re coping with IT consumerization today, and what moves they’re planning for the future. Although the executives voiced a range of hopes and concerns, one overriding theme emerged — the true value of IT consumerization emerges when it becomes part of a larger strategic plan to reduce overall costs, attract and retain more customers, and sharpen an SMB’s competitive edge.
The State of IT Consumerization
2
drive into service bays. Gone are the days of forcing clients to queue up at the service desk.
But consumerization isn’t all gain and no pain. SMB IT managers worry about the trade-offs inherent in technology designed for consumers, not modern businesses. As security and device-management rules evolve to bridge this gap, many IT administrators are obsessing over how best to encrypt data, better protect endpoint devices, and launch “poison pill” security software that wipes information from lost or stolen devices. Adding to the security problem is the relatively small size of SMB IT departments that are already juggling many other responsibilities.
But business managers may have a different view. To them, consumerization often represents the chance to create more flexible business processes and reduce the cost of doing business.
This classic “glass half-empty or half-full” struggle surfaces in The State of IT Consumerization, a March 2012 survey by UBM TechWeb that polled 202 SMB executives in a cross-section of industries to see how they’re coping with IT consumerization today, and what moves they’re planning for the future.
Although the executives voiced a range of hopes and concerns, one overriding theme emerged — the value of IT consumerization comes when the technologies are used strategically rather than tactically. For example, bring your own device (BYOD) programs may sound like an appealing way to reduce costs by encouraging employees to pay for their own hardware. But the savings alone aren’t incentive enough to warrant the risks. Consumerization should be part of a larger strategic plan to reduce overall costs, attract and retain more employees and customers, and sharpen the organization’s competitive edge.
The Big PictureTo put IT consumerization and mobile computing into a larger business context, the survey asked IT managers to name their top priorities for the next 18 months. Not surprisingly, in an era of continued budget constraints, the most common response was the desire to reduce overall business costs (66%). But financial concerns don’t mean executives are adopting a bunker mentality. Helping employees collaborate more and become agile in their jobs is an important goal for 46 percent of respondents, and 45 percent noted the need to accommodate or accelerate business growth and improve
business processes (see Figure 1).When the survey drilled down to see what types of invest-
ments the executives were considering to meet these goals, mobile solutions rose to the top (55%), surpassing such long-standing initiatives as data management and server virtualization projects (see Figure 2, page 4).
A greater understanding of user preferences and the desire by business managers to meet them will influence mobile strategies, says Andrew Braunberg, research director for enterprise networks and security at Current Analysis, a research and consulting firm. “The requirement from the end-user community is for devices they are familiar with and that they believe will increase their productivity,” Braunberg explains. Highly mobilized companies also believe that solu-tions with a consumerization twist are essential for attracting today’s top talent, he adds.
To see the early impact of consumerization, consider three
Figure 1. Top PrioritiesWhat are the top business priorities that will have the greatest impact on your organization’s IT spending decisions over the next 12 to 18 months?
Note: Maximum of three responses allowedprofessionals, March 2012Data: UBM TechWeb Survey of 202 technology decision makers of end user devices and software at companies with fewer than 500 employees, March 2012
Reducing the overall costs of doing business
Increase end user collaboration and agility
66%
46%
Business process improvement
45%
Corporate security and risk management
30%
Business intelligence improvement
Regulatory compliance
Green initiatives related to energy efficiency and reducing environmental impactof the above
22%
11%
5%
Need to accommodate/accelerate business growth
45%
examples from very different industries: financial services, automotive and health care. Although each sector represents different business needs, they find common ground by using mobile devices to help their organizations evolve.
The Columbia-Greene Federal Credit Union, in upstate New York, will look to mobile apps to keep and attract cus-tomers. “Mobile devices are going to be a necessity, espe-cially as we try to attract younger members,” says Linda MacFarlane, president and CEO. “As young people go off to college and move out of the area, we want them to stay connected to our credit union. The way to do that is through technology and mobile devices.”
At Mercedes-Benz of Memphis, the sales staff uses tablets to show off the high-end engineering features of the cars by using slick multimedia demos that convey information more effectively than printed brochures, says Dan Brogdon, the dealership’s systems administrator.
Tablets are helping Sea Crest Home Health Services, in Costa Mesa, Calif., improve patient care. Since last fall, many clinicians have been using a mobile application at the bedside to view the latest doctors’ orders and enter patient informa-tion, including vital signs and wound reports. “When we went electronic, we found that our accuracy in reporting improved,” says Kenneth A. Cowan, operations manager.
“And Medicare and auditors are very meticulous about how clinicians chart patients. Nurses have embraced technology because they understand they are able to give better care to the patients because of it.”
Sea Crest also sees a significant financial gain. “We’re sav-ing a ton of money on printing, and we’ve saved a few trees,” Cowan says, noting that patient charts often run 30 to 35 pages each. Since the mobile initiative was adopted, print-ing and paper costs dropped about 75 percent — thanks to electronic documentation.
Clear ROIReports such as these help explain why SMBs have a positive view of the returns they’re seeing for their mobile investments. Analysts note that return on investment (ROI) may not always be represented by hard numbers. Subjective factors come into play — for example, how do you determine whether a sales increase is the result of the compelling and informative elec-tronic brochure a customer viewed on a tablet?
No matter how a company determines ROI, the results are clear: 90 percent of the survey respondents said they were sat-isfied with the returns they see from personal mobile devices in their enterprises. And, 31 percent of that group said returns had exceeded their expectations (see Figure 3, page 4).
:: Multipronged Security
The rise of ubiquitous mobile applications presents SMBs with a range of new security threats. These range from all-too-familiar breaches caused by virus and malware infections to unauthorized access to sensitive information after a mobile device is lost or stolen.
To guard against mobile threats, IT administrators need a combination of internal security policies and technologies that can protect information whether it is stored on devices or in transit between mobile workers and a company’s data center. Here are some key components to consider:
Security expertise. Few SMBs have the internal resources needed to create, monitor and maintain a secure environ-ment for mobile applications. Third-party solutions, such as Dell SecureWorks security services, can provide device monitoring, management and security consulting help.
Intrusion protection. To keep unauthorized users from gaining access to internal company resources, intrusion protec-tion services, such as Dell SecureWorks, provide 24-hour network monitoring and threat-response services, as well as unlimited access to on-call security experts.
Endpoint security. Security management services for end-point devices use specialized software that scans for and addresses potential threats from malware. In addition, appliances, such as Dell KACE management appliances, monitor network access and enforce security policies.
Data encryption. The ability to scramble information to make it unreadable to unauthorized users protects sensitive data stored on devices or when it is flowing across the network. Comprehensive solutions include Dell Data Protection Encryption.
No single technology can protect against every vulnerability, but a multipronged approach will help SMBs reap the reward of mobile solutions while mitigating the risks.
The State of IT Consumerization
3
The Game Has Changed But as SMB executives contemplate the benefits of mobile solutions and IT consumerization, they realize that mobility today isn’t what it used to be. A new mix of devices, business uses and growing challenges require new ways of thinking.
Eight-eight percent said personal mobile devices were hav-ing an impact on their internal operations, with 38 percent labeling the changes as “significant” (see Figure 4).
New ways of doing business include not always relying on company-provisioned devices. A significant majority in the survey voiced positive views about BYOD, with more than two thirds (67%) of the executives identifying end-user pro-ductivity and satisfaction as top incentives for allowing per-sonal devices into business operations (see Figure 5, page 5).
Some organizations are opting for a hybrid approach to BYOD. For example, clinicians at Sea Crest must purchase
the tablets they use in their work, although the health care agency immediately reimburses them for the cost of the equipment and a cellular data plan. The rationale is that nurses aren’t burdened with an added equipment expense, but they are responsible for the gear, including repairs and optional maintenance agreements. “Because they own it, if it fails, they need to get it fixed,” Cowan explains. “We don’t want to be tech support for a large number of [tablets]. And we knew that if these were our devices and they went home, we absolutely could not guarantee that a kid wasn’t going to drop it or do something else to damage the equipment.”
Security Concerns Rise to the TopThe care of mobile equipment isn’t the only concern with con-sumerization. Braunberg of Current Analysis says the big-gest mobile trends in the coming year will revolve around improving security and related issues, such as mobile man-agement policies. This prediction is borne out in The State of IT Consumerization results. Security ranked highest (79%) when executives were asked to cite their primary concerns,
Mobile workforce enablement
Data protection, retention and recovery
55%
46%
Information security and compliance
33%
Business continuity/disaster recovery programs
21%
Desktop virtualization
Data center consolidation
Private cloud
16%
14%
10%
Server virtualization
33%
30%
Applications delivered via Saas model
Figure 2. The Year of MobileWhat will be the most important IT initiatives to support these business priorities over the next 12 to 18 months?
Figure 3. The Results Are InHow would you characterize the return on investment (ROI) so far from allowing and supporting personal mobile devices in your organization?
Figure 4. Ripple EffectsTo what extent have personal mobile devices impacted your organization’s infrastructure and management processes?
Note: Maximum of three responses allowed
Data: UBM TechWeb Survey of 202 technology decision makers of end user devices and software at companies with fewer than 500 employees, March 2012
Data: UBM TechWeb Survey of 202 technology decision makers of end user devices and software at companies with fewer than 500 employees, March 2012
Data: UBM TechWeb Survey of 202 technology decision makers of end user devices and software at companies with fewer than 500 employees, March 2012
Meets expectations
Much worse than expected
Much better than expected
Somewhat better than expected
Below expectations
22%
9%
9%
59%
1%
31%
Some impact (our strategy is to determine case-by-case who can use personal mobile devices)
No impact (we ban all personal mobile devices)
Significant impact (our strategy is allow personal
mobile devices for anyone who wants to use them)
Little impact (we keep tight controls on personal mobile devices)
38%50%
10%
2%
The State of IT Consumerization
4
followed by data protection (63%) and IT management worries (47%). (See Figure 6.)
The survey also identified a keen understanding that tra-ditional security technologies, such as firewalls and antivi-rus software, must be augmented with mobile-aware tools and strategies. Survey respondents included a number of items on their mobile-management wish lists, such as the ability to remotely lock down or wipe data from a device and to encrypt information (see Figure 7).
With the right controls in place, mobile applications may actually improve security, even for organization in a highly regulated industry such as health care, Cowan says. For example, patient data in electronic documents is easier to manage and create an audit trail of its viewers than when the information resides on paper forms. But security improves only if health organizations implement effective policies for password usage and other end-point protections. Partly for
Figure 6. Keeping Data SafeWhat are your primary concerns if greater num-bers of end users utilize personal mobile devices in your enterprise?
Note: Multiple responses allowed Data: UBM TechWeb Survey of 202 technology decision makers of end user devices and software at companies with fewer than 500 employees, March 2012
Figure 5. Engaging End UsersWhat are the leading drivers for allowing personal mobile devices in your organization?
Note: Multiple responses allowed Data: UBM TechWeb Survey of 202 technology decision makers of end user devices and software at companies with fewer than 500 employees, March 2012
Methodology:UBM TechWeb conducted the State of IT Consumerization survey for Dell in March 2012. The online survey collected a total of 202 responses from executives who are involved in the purchasing process for end-user devices at small or midsize organizations (less than 500 employees) in a wide range of vertical markets. The results presented in this paper are based on these 202 qualified respondents unless otherwise noted. The greatest possible margin of error for the total respondent base (N=202) is +/-6.6 percentage points. UBM TechWeb was responsible for all programming and data analysis. These procedures were carried out in strict accordance with standard market research practices.
Improve end-user productivity and satisfaction
Improve business agility and responsiveness
67%
62%
Promote greater collaboration among knowledge workers
47%
Enhance customer service
41%
Achieve better Service Levels
Augment telecommuting and flexible work arrangements
Attract and retain talent
32%
27%
14%
Provide anywhere, anytime access to enterprise resources
58%
Security
Data protection, retention and recovery
79%
63%
Growing management and support demands on IT
41%
Mobile application development and upgrades
20%
Management of software licensing costs
OPEX associated with mobile administration and data plans
Distributed/remote offices
13%
8%
8%
CAPEX associated with mobile hardware
6%
Personal devices outside of IT's direct control
47%
5
The State of IT Consumerization
security reasons, Sea Crest moved from its existing clinical application to a browser-based alternative for its tablet-toting clinicians.
“The application runs on a secure website that’s HIPAA [Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act]
compliant,” Cowan explains. Nurses don’t download patient records — they just view the information on screen — to eliminate the risk of a security breach if the tablet falls into the hands of an unauthorized person.
Cowan also uses security software to remotely wipe a mis-placed tablet clean. “As an additional point of control I can sus-pend or change passwords at will here in my office so,” he adds.
Partitioning or “sandboxing” — the ability for IT man-agers to separate corporate and personal data stored on mobile devices — is another important capability for SMBs, according to almost half of the survey respondents. “You can make sure that Angry Birds isn’t interacting with corporate email,” Braunberg says.
The Future of MobilityThe eyes-wide-open approach that executives are taking when it comes to securing and managing these assets shows that they view mobility as a long-term strategy rather than a technologi-cal fad. It’s also a set of innovations that may grow in impor-tance as mobility merges with other major IT developments, such as cloud computing. “When you think about how people will access information in the future, mobile devices will rely on SaaS [Software-as-a-Service applications] as a way of pulling data down to devices and not necessarily going through the corporate gateway,” analyst Braunberg says. All of which shows that the state of IT consumerization is clear — managers at SMBs increasingly see intuitive mobile devices and applications as integral parts of business life with benefits for both internal operations and customer-facing activities.
Note: Percentages reflect rating of “critical” or “very important” Data: UBM TechWeb Survey of 202 technology decision makers of end user devices and software at companies with fewer than 500 employees, March 2012
Figure 7. Where the Money Will GoHow important will investments in the following technologies be over the next 12 to 18 months to support mobile devices?"Poison pill" software to erase data on lost or stolen devices
Encryption technology
59%
55%
VPNs
50%
Mobile device management services
48%
Mobile device management software
Web-based application portals
Appliances for device management and security
47%
46%
42%
Enterprise-class mobile devices
39%
Software inventory and usage services
36%
Internal Web 2.0 capabilities (including instant messaging, wikis, blogs, social media sites)
Alan Joch is a veteran business and technology writer who specializes in creating online, print and live-event content. His expertise includes enterprise applications, cloud computing, printing and imaging solutions, the Web and “green” computing.
![[MS-SMB-Diff]: Server Message Block (SMB) Protocol... · 2018. 9. 10. · Server Message Block (SMB)](https://static.documents.pub/doc/80x56/601e82785cca6a3942273390/ms-smb-diff-server-message-block-smb-protocol-2018-9-10-server-message.jpg)
![[MS-SMB]: Server Message Block (SMB) ProtocolMS-SMB...2 / 180 [MS-SMB] - v20160714 Server Message Block (SMB) Protocol Copyright © 2016 Microsoft Corporation Release: July 14, 2016](https://static.documents.pub/doc/80x56/5eca5802c38f4e40c93e9ef9/ms-smb-server-message-block-smb-protocol-ms-smb-2-180-ms-smb-v20160714.jpg)
