The Mobile Movement

Merriam-Webster defines phobia as “an exaggerated usually inexplicable and illogical fear of a particular object, class of objects, or situation.”² Some phobias are fairly well known by name, if not association. There's arachnophobia, the fear of spiders, tormenting 55 percent of females and 18 percent of males.³ Glossophobia may not be in one's common vernacular, yet with approximately 75 percent of the population afflicted by a fear of public speaking, it is certainly well-known, nonetheless.⁴ And, in 2008, a new phobia entered the scene, one that has yet to be officially recognized as a disorder but plagues two-thirds of people regardless.⁵ These nomophobes are terrified of being without their cell phones. Although critics may be quick to dismiss this latest phobia as silly, the case for mobility's indispensability is compelling. There is no device more personal than the mobile phone. It knows your location and preferences. It holds your pictures, e-mail, text messages, calendars, and contacts. It's no surprise, therefore, that such a large percentage of the population report that they can't live without their phones. However, despite the dependence that people have on these devices, they still lose them. According to a study by the mobile security firm Lookout, 9 million smartphones tracked by the company in 2011 were lost⁶—at a cost of more than $30 billion. Per consumer, that works out to about $250 each, and for the nomophobes among them, countless sleepless nights.

Although the negative impact of a personal mobile phone falling into the wrong hands can be high, the impact of losing a business-connected device can be devastating. To demonstrate the risk that a lost device can create for a business, the security firm Symantec conducted what it calls the Smartphone Honey Stick Project. This project involved the “loss” of 50 mobile phones across five U.S. cities. These phones were preloaded with a combination of well-labeled personal and corporate applications and data files—some of which featured a simulated login page with the username and password prepopulated. From an enterprise point of view, the results were sobering. The study found that when a lost business-connected mobile device is discovered, there is an 83 percent chance that the person who found it will attempt to access corporate data or the corporate network. A file titled “HR Cases” was accessed on 40 percent of the devices, and attempted access to a “Remote Admin” application was recorded on 49 percent of the devices. Of the 50 phones, there was an attempt to return only half—despite the fact that the “owner's” name and contact information were easily available.⁷

The advent of mobile broadband networks has driven a pervasive, always-on connectivity and mentality. The rise of smartphones, tablets, and ultrabook computers gives employees the ability to leverage a constellation of applications and functionality to remain productive and get things done no matter where they are. The consumer market has wholeheartedly embraced this technology to manage both personal and family lives. Applications for personal finance, time management, information gathering, and even entertainment have become essential tools for a wide section of the population. The potential is even greater in the enterprise. Mobile technologies allow today's workforce the ability to work effectively from anywhere, to collaborate with others across geographies and time zones, and to realize productivity benefits by working smarter. However, the ultimate responsibility for the safety and integrity of company data and workflow lies with the company's Information Technology or Information Security Office. As the Smartphone Honey Stick Project so dramatically illustrates, the benefits of a mobile workplace are not without their risks. Despite the concerns and potential pitfalls, enterprises find themselves in the throes of one of the most significant workforce trends since the dawn of the personal computer, with an evolution as profound to match.

As with most evolutions, the path to true mobility in the workplace has been developed over many years. Researcher and professor Jack Nilles is credited with first using the term telecommuting in 1973, while he was the Director for Interdisciplinary Research at the University of Southern California. According to Garrett and Danziger,⁸ “telecommuting” or “telework” is characterized by the following four dimensions:

• Work location—Which refers to any location other than a centralized organizational work space;
• The usage of information and communication technologies—Which indicates the technical infrastructure and support required;
• The time distribution—Which compares the replacement of working time out of the traditional office versus in the traditional office; and
• The type of contractual agreement between employer and employee.

In simpler terms, telework can be described as a work arrangement between employee and manager that allows the employee to leverage technology to gain flexibility in terms of where and when they work. As the oft-repeated mantra says, “Work is something you do, not where you go.”

Needless to say, at the time of its inception in the early 1970s, telecommuting was much more concept than widespread practice. Using the technology of the time, satellite offices were linked to mainframe computers that were centralized at the company headquarters using telephone lines as the network bridge. This was a rather expensive proposition and, although it did provide some degree of flexibility to a specific segment of the employee base, the freedoms they enjoyed were somewhat limited. With the introduction of the personal computer in the early 1980s, however, employees could connect to these mainframes through terminal emulation. Given that one would consider this access slow and cumbersome by today's standards, this technology allowed a larger segment of the workforce to begin to realize the benefits of working from their homes.

The early 1990s through the early 2000s is often referred to as the “Digital Age.” Characterized by the ubiquity of the personal computer and the connections that allowed these computers to interact with a larger network, the Digital Age represented the first glimpse of true workplace flexibility. With the rise of the “Information Age” in the early to mid 2000s, individuals were no longer limited to primarily performing localized tasks but could take advantage of the world of information available with the click of a mouse. Beyond just access to information, the Information Age also introduced high-speed Internet access to the home. Once only accessible in the workplace, these broadband connections in the home introduced a flood of new applications and technologies designed to give the employee a greater degree of freedom than ever before. Advanced Virtual Private Network (VPN) capabilities to allow secure access to company data, Voice-over-IP to allow inexpensive voice communications over a home broadband connection, and videoconferencing applications to encourage face-to-face interactions from the comfort of the home office, all served to make the modern teleworker more productive than ever before.

Personal computers and high-speed Internet access allowed employees to replicate the office experience in their homes like never before. The Digital and Information Ages provided the employee with the access and tools to work away from a centralized company workplace productively, but she was still shackled to a desk. Enter the most current step in the evolution. In Identity Shift: Where Identity Meets Technology in the Networked-Community Age (Wiley, 2011), authors Allison Cerra and Christina James introduced the “Networked-Community Age.” Characterized by pervasive, always-on connections to a virtual world, in the Networked-Community Age individuals are no longer tethered to PCs and their fixed broadband connections. Mobile devices, such as smartphones and tablet computers, now provide ubiquitous high-speed connectivity. And while the Digital and Information Ages saw a transition of office-based technologies—such as e-mail and broadband—to the home, the Networked-Community Age has turned that model on its head. It is now the technologies, devices, and applications that consumers enjoy in their personal lives that are being driven into the workplace. These advanced devices and the applications that they enable are creating the most mobile workforce in history. Today's employee can work productively and efficiently from home, while waiting at the doctor's office, from his son's soccer game, from almost anywhere. And although the benefits of a mobile, always-on workforce are clear, there are a fair share of challenges and complexities—both for employees and organizations.

The introduction of the original Apple iPhone clearly illustrates the benefits and challenges this Networked-Community Age imposes on the workplace. When it was released in June of 2007, there was no doubt that the iPhone would be popular. “Popular” turned out to be somewhat of an understatement. According to market research firm Gartner, within the first year of its release, the original iPhone captured 20 percent of the smartphone market.⁹ At the time, the iPhone was second only to Blackberry, the enterprise workhorse that was a constant on the hip of workers around the world. Consumers loved their iPhones—they loved the sleek design, they loved the interface, and they loved the apps. It finally seemed that someone had put the “smart” into the smartphone, allowing the consumer to realize a world of additional benefit from his device beyond voice, e-mail, and text.

Apple originally designed and marketed the iPhone as a consumer-specific product. As a result, the device did not include many features and functionalities required for widespread enterprise adoption. It offered limited Exchange support for e-mail, calendar, and contacts. It didn't have a physical keyboard or 3G support. In the event one of the phones was lost or stolen, there was no way for the IT department to wipe or disable the missing phone. Of course, this didn't stop then–Apple COO Tim Cook (now CEO) from telegraphing their intentions in 2007:

It also didn't stop enamored consumers from bringing these devices to work and using them for work purposes—often against internal IT policies. As more and more consumers began to use their iPhones in the workplace, it became clear to CIOs that something would have to give. As Apple began addressing key enterprise management and security functions, their market share in the enterprise began to grow. According to mobility management provider Visage Mobile, in the third quarter of 2011, the iPhone broke Blackberry's grip to become the most-used device in the enterprise mobility space with a 45 percent market share.¹¹

The term BYOD, or “Bring Your Own Device,” has become commonplace in the lexicon of IT departments around the country. Although the BYOD phenomenon encompasses multiple types of devices, including tablets and laptop computers, the smartphone is easily the most visible example of the trend. As the story of the original iPhone illustrates, devices that capture the imagination of the consumer and provide the features and functionalities that allow her to be more productive will find their way into the workplace—with or without the support of IT. According to the 2012 Alcatel-Lucent study (described in the prologue to this book), BYOD is rapidly becoming less of a trend and more standard operating procedure. Half of frontline workers use their personal devices to help them get their work done.

The increasing reliance on personal devices for work purposes is a key contributor to the rise of an incredibly mobile workforce. According to the 2012 Alcatel-Lucent study, 83 percent of respondents identify themselves as “mobile capable,” meaning that they already have all the tools in place to work effectively away from an office environment. More than 90 percent of surveyed enterprises already allow some employees to leverage the technology at their disposal to work remotely. Such a high number is not surprising because the benefit to the business can be significant. In an effort to accommodate their growing mobile workforce, pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline reconfigured their Research Triangle Park, N.C. office to an unassigned seating scheme. Should any of the 1,200 employees at that location decide to come into the office to work, they set up their laptop at a workstation enabled with an Internet phone and—voilà—instant office. The company says that it has saved nearly $10 million a year in real estate costs alone. This transition has been so effective that the company has adopted the plan in 20 other offices around the world.¹²

If the financial benefits to the company of encouraging and supporting a growing mobile workforce are clear, what about the appetite of the employee base for an increasingly mobile work life? Despite the overall success of GlaxoSmithKline's program, it was not immediately popular with every employee. Some workers felt the scheme was too cold and impersonal because they had no permanent space to make their own. Others felt unorganized and had a harder time adapting to the idea of unpacking and packing up their belongings every time they came into the office.¹³ In addition to losing a connection to a permanent office space, the shift to a more mobile approach to work also means that one's work is with him all the time, no matter where he goes. To better understand the feelings of enterprise workers around these possible tension points, the 2012 Alcatel-Lucent study asked respondents to make a choice between two options: (1) The technology at my disposal gives me the freedom to work when I want, where I want; or (2) I can't escape from work demands. More than three in four indicated the former. When it comes to more flexible working arrangements, it is clear that these enterprise workers want, and value, the responsibility and freedom that mobility gives them.

Of course, just because something is technically possible does not mean it should be pursued. When evaluating the appropriateness of a mobile workforce, the obvious question of employee productivity must be asked. With the number of potential diversions and distractions outside of the office, how productive does an employee expect to be if provided with the opportunity to adopt a mobile work life? According to enterprise workers in the 2012 Alcatel-Lucent study, the “greatest benefits to more employees working remotely” are increased productivity (26%) and increased morale (21%). Of those enterprise workers who already work remotely, the vast majority say that this mobility makes them more productive. Despite the notion that focusing on work tasks is more difficult given other distractions surrounding the mobile worker, nearly half indicate that they are more productive because there are actually fewer distractions than in a traditional office setting. Half are more productive simply because they are more comfortable, and nearly the same number indicate that spreading their work out over more hours allows them to better focus on their work on their terms.

Although more flexible working arrangements may positively impact employee productivity, there are some negative aspects to working and managing others in a mobile-centric environment. When asked to identify the “greatest drawbacks to more employees working remotely,” respondents in the 2012 Alcatel-Lucent study highlighted the increased challenges in coordination and monitoring of work (29%), the difficulty in managing employees (16%), and the difficulty in developing relationships with coworkers (15%). Perhaps these challenges help explain why only 15 percent of entry-level employees are trusted to work remotely, whereas 42 percent of experienced employees are afforded the opportunity. Given the managerial challenges associated with a mobile workforce, a certain degree of personal productivity and managerial trust needs to be developed before such flexibility is provided. The difficulty in developing relationships and working with coworkers is also reflected by the enterprise workers who already work remotely. As stated above, 61 percent of this population say that their mobile work life has increased their personal productivity. Yet, although individual productivity is gained, the jury is still out when it comes to how a virtual workforce affects team output. On this point, the sample is divided, with 51 percent of this same cohort agreeing that working from outside the office reduces team productivity because people do not see each other as often.

Still, despite the questionable effects that a mobile workforce has on team productivity, the myriad benefits evidenced through real estate savings and increased employee productivity, not to mention the surge in employee satisfaction, are often sufficient to compel enterprises forward. From an IT perspective, the challenges are formidable. According to a recent report by enterprise mobility services firm iPass, IT managers feel that they are losing control of the mobile landscape in their organizations. More than two in five believe that they have less control over the employee's choice of device than a year earlier. Of greatest frustration to these IT professionals is in properly supporting their internal customers, despite lacking the authority to govern a fragmented device ecosystem in the enterprise. They cite the challenges in providing support for nonprovisioned devices and in onboarding them to the corporate network, as the top frustrations expressed.¹⁴ It is telling that two issues related to the introduction of personal devices into the workplace rank higher as a source of consternation for IT managers than the veritable mainstays that have beleaguered this profession since its inception, that of data encryption, loss or recovery, and network security. And, not surprisingly, for those IT departments that do retain a degree of control over the selection of devices in the workplace, the 2012 Alcatel-Lucent study found that security and data protection are the primary reason that 59 percent of IT decision makers restrict personal devices.

The security concerns shared by the more cautious IT departments who are not rushing toward the BYOD trend are not unfounded. If the Honey Stick experiment isn't sufficient to demonstrate the potential harm that is created when a mobile device is lost or stolen, perhaps the exponential increase in mobile threats capable of seeping through the virtual door is cause to keep an IT manager awake at night. The security firm Securelist found only 153 families of mobile malicious programs and more than 1,000 modifications of mobile threats at the end of 2010. By 2011, the company says, those figures grew by 178 new families and more than 5,000 new modifications. Nearly 37 percent of the mobile malware in 2011 came in the form of seemingly innocuous SMS messages.¹⁵ A global study by (ISC)² confirms the same. In it, 56 percent of respondents indicate an increase in security risks in 2011, with 38 percent attributing the cause to mobile devices.¹⁶

Although legitimate concerns remain, it's clear that the mobility trend in the enterprise is not going away. A recent report from the global telecommunications service provider BT shows that 84 percent of IT decision makers believe that companies that allow their employees to use their personal devices for work enjoy a competitive advantage.¹⁷ When coupled with increased employee productivity and satisfaction, the benefit to the enterprise of a mobile-enabled workforce, powered by their own devices, becomes hard to ignore.

The following are some practical considerations that may help more conservative enterprises get over the mobility hump, if not improve the situation for those who have already embraced the trend:

• Quarantine the disease, not the patients—One of the most counterproductive measures enterprises can take is to treat mobility demand among employees as a contagion deserving of quarantine. These enterprises often impose a stranglehold on procedures and policies in an attempt to suppress mobile appetite.

  Unfortunately, the opposite is often experienced. Studies by the Aberdeen Group and others show that such inflexible control increases costs and risks as employees simply bypass corporate-sanctioned systems.¹⁸ Still, there is inherent complexity in supporting an average of eight mobile platforms per company in 2011 (according to Sybase research surveying 250 IT managers).¹⁹ Risks such as provisioning complexity across multiple devices, data security, device loss, and increased data usage costs cannot be ignored.

  Mobile device management platforms and cloud-based containerization technologies that allow for the partitioning of users' professional and personal profiles can help address these technical dilemmas.

• Clarify the prescription—Addressing technical challenges is one matter, but how should organizations go about executing an effective mobile strategy? In a research note written in collaboration with BT, Gartner identifies three best practices for organizations that are allowing their mobile workers to equip themselves.

  First, support agreements are essential in clarifying the expectations between employees and management. Included is the arrangement that specifies accountability—such as who is responsible for backing up the device, in what scenario can the IT department wipe the device, and what are the acceptable use policies—to remove as much ambiguity from the BYOD equation as possible.

  Second, the involvement of Human Resources, auditors, insurance providers, and legal staff in the development of any BYOD program ensures that their requirements (such as device wiping or retrieving devices to satisfy possible e-disclosure demands) are accommodated.

  Finally, contingency plans and support teams need to be identified in the event that external events, such as legal rulings, require rapid changes to the BYOD policy.²⁰

• Monitor health without compromising trust—Beyond the IT implementation of BYOD and telecommuting policies designed to enable an adaptable workforce, the management of these remote workers is also a key consideration for enterprises hoping to realize the benefits such flexible organizations promise. As previously discussed, employees must first demonstrate a certain degree of productivity before being afforded the trust to work remotely. However, even the most productive and responsive remote workers require some specific care and feeding from their management.

  From an employee management perspective, it can be difficult to keep track of what is going on in the field and how remote employees are performing. Of course, technology can provide some level of oversight for managers of a remote workforce. Smartphones can be monitored and configured to report on location, usage, and activity to provide a degree of worker oversight for managers wanting to monitor specific performance metrics. More than one in four business decision makers and one in three IT decision makers in the 2012 Alcatel-Lucent study indicate that managers have the right to use such technology to monitor their employees at all times. However, the acceptable oversight of employee behavior is not necessarily shared by the subjects in question, the frontline employees themselves. In a working arrangement that is built on trust, such an approach needs to be handled openly, above board, and with full disclosure to the employee.

  Before implementing such a practice to remote worker management, perhaps a more old-school approach would be more appropriate. Fast Company magazine recently identified three specific ways to encourage and get the most out of a virtual team.

  First, make sure the right tools are in place. Especially in an age when people are using their own devices and applications, work collaboration can suffer in a remote working environment. Half the employees in the 2012 Alcatel-Lucent study indicate that team productivity is negatively impacted in remote working situations. By coalescing around a common set of tools, a team can establish a simple and easy way for a manager and team to keep track of progress against objectives and work together.

  Second, managers need to remember to recognize and reward remote workers as they would ones in the office. Making sure that the mobile workforce is acknowledged in a similar fashion to office workers reinforces the fact that the company is one team and part of the same culture.

  Finally, managers should never discount the in-person connection. Day-to-day work may take place from separate locations, but the occasional onsite meeting or monthly face-to-face lunch can help eliminate the potential feeling of isolation.²¹

The mobile workforce has proven itself to be a productive and contributing force in today's enterprise. Enabled by new and emerging technologies, mobile employees are leveraging the flexibility and power of an always-connected world to get their jobs done regardless of the time of day or their physical location. Successful organizations with established remote working arrangements continue to see cost and employee satisfaction benefits. As the workforce becomes more virtual and continues to bring their personal technology into the workplace, today's companies are at a crossroads: Continue to restrict their employees to a set of formally approved tools, or fully embrace the newer BYOD trend and the older telecommuting movement before it and the benefits both can bring to the organization? Those enterprises that conscientiously support technologies to address the needs of an increasingly fluid workforce and implement demonstrated best practices may find themselves the beneficiaries of lower costs with higher employee throughput and satisfaction—a goal upon which both business leaders and frontline employees can agree.