What was once a far-fetched dream, the Internet of Things (IoT) and mobile devices, have permeated our lives, personally and professionally. In order to compete, enterprises must acknowledge this shift and implement infrastructure that supports it.
Creating a digital workplace that drops legacy infrastructure is a frightening thought for many enterprises. The best way to combat this fear is through understanding the challenges for IT and what can be done to overcome them.
Continue reading for insight on digital workplace challenges and our recommended solution.
IoT Workplace Challenges
- Workplace design and wireless technology. Organizations have figured out that the move to mobile cloud is not just a technology shift. In response to this shift, the physical space and the technology that needs to be in place to support it must be considered. Just as we require lighting and electricity in place, it is now expected to have a high performance, secure Wi-Fi infrastructure to support mobile devices.
Furthermore, this shift also means that wireless and IoT are no longer add-ons to the wired network. They need to be incorporated into the infrastructure design from the start and should be treated as the primary means employees will get most of their business done. The peripheral and headless devices will also rely on wireless and Ethernet connectivity. Network operators need tools that easily deploy the infrastructure end-to-end, secure it, and collect performance information on a continual basis.
Solid Wi-Fi coverage is essential in the digital workplace, not an afterthought.
- Document Management. According to CMSWire, “[Employees] in your company have a personal Dropbox subscription or equivalent cloud content management system. They are storing your company’s IP in their personal account. If they exit your company, the IP leaves with them. Organizations still overwhelmingly favor on-premises file shares. Moving from these file shares to a cloud content management system is as much a cultural change as it is an IT project, but it’s one that must be done.”
Storing information on the cloud is convenient for employees who need to access their work while on the go and is becoming more common; however, using a personal cloud storage account opens your enterprise up to unnecessary risk and potential loss. Taking a proactive approach and providing cloud access through the organization will put the control in your hands and mitigate some of the risks associated with personal cloud storage.
Need help choosing a cloud model that’s right for your enterprise? This WEI article can help: How to Choose the Right Cloud Model.
- Understanding IoT and Device Behavior. While IoT and BYOD offer potential rewards, all of those devices connecting to the network have the possibility to open your enterprise up to security threats. The lines of a secure perimeter are pushed to limit, but creating security policies based on known, contextual data that you trust helps to combat these potential risks. The network needs to be smart enough to classify and understand the behavior of IoT devices automatically and predict issues without disruptions to the business.
- Security Policies. IT organizations must implement the right set of tools to quickly translate complex corporate security policies and stringent compliance requirements to their language. They should be able to program the underlying infrastructure on-demand and control network access for any unknown IoT and mobile device, without wasting countless hours and unnecessary resources. With the increasing variety and scale of apps running on the network, they need a common policy framework to move beyond the perimeter-based security model for all things connected.
The Solution? Aruba’s Mobile First Approach
The new generation of collaborative workplaces, a surge in Internet of Things devices, the increased speed of doing business on mobile, and the millennial workforce are forcing enterprises to ask themselves if their IT is ready for the new way of doing business.
Aruba takes a mobile-first approach to create the foundation for the digital workplace. Focusing its efforts on software-powered innovation, Aruba differentiates itself from the traditional hardware-focused networking solutions. With an integrated wired and wireless portfolio, and advances in network management and security, Aruba recommends this 4-step approach.
- Beef up wireless to optimize for mobile and IoT
- Futureproof your wired infrastructure
- Predict network issues before they happen
- Secure the network with smart policy management
Are you ready to take your enterprise to the next level with implementing a mobile first approach that supports devices and IoT? Let WEI help you plan and execute a customized solution that fits your business. to get started.
Next Steps: If you have questions about how your company can take advantage of IoT technologies, Contact us today for help from a trusted IT solutions provider.