“Businesses must adapt to the rise in smartphone computing or face complex device management issues,” says Mathivanan Venkatachalam, director of product management at ManageEngine.
There’s a rebellion taking place in organisations all over the world. Laptops may be getting smaller and sleeker, but smartphones and tablets are becoming a more powerful tool for employees, providing a compact computing solution. Recent trends in device usage have certainly tilted toward the use of touchscreen devices over traditional desktop computers.
In some cases, organisations are funding this revolution, arming their employees with brand-new business-owned smartphones and tablets that enable workers to stay constantly connected to email accounts, shared servers, CRM systems, and other resources.
Research firm Statcounter recently reported that mobile web usage has overtaken desktop computer web usage for the first time ever, highlighting the shift towards mobile devices over traditional laptops and PCs. Similar research from comScore reveals that 20 percent of millennials no longer use laptops or PCs, suggesting that traditional computer usage will decline further as younger generations opt for the convenience of mobile devices. Further analysis from We Are Social predicts that by the end of this year, there will be approximately 5 billion smartphone users globally.
The connected world enables employees to access corporate resources from any place, at any time. The nine-to-five work day is no more because administrative tasks can be managed quickly and easily whenever employees have their devices in their hands. This in turn frees up more time within the work day so employees can focus on higher priority responsibilities.
[easy-tweet tweet=”BYOD is the practice of employees using their own personal smart devices for work activities” hashtags=”BYOD, IT”]
Organisations that haven’t yet recognised the benefits of providing employees with smart devices—or that simply don’t have the budget to do so—are no doubt beginning to experience bring your own device (BYOD) culture. BYOD is the practice of employees using their own personal smart devices for work activities, allowing them to complete tasks remotely or on the move.
IT admins: Agents of change
There are clear benefits to this workplace revolution, but IT departments must adapt if their business is to benefit from the increased productivity that BYOD brings. If IT teams are to become the agents of change by facilitating a smooth transition to a smarter, mobile-friendly organisation, they must be provided with the right tools for the job.
With the increased organisational benefits of mobile computing comes a whole new set of problems for IT teams, who must adapt to the challenges of managing the IT capabilities of a mobile workforce. Common issues such as a user struggling to locate a downloaded file on their smart device, or encountering complications streaming a presentation to a TV screen, can result in lengthy and often fruitless calls to the IT help desk.
The IT admin on the other end of the line will typically attempt to assist with blind instructions, and this can be a complicated and time-consuming process. It only takes one party with poor communication skills to add to the frustration. An IT admin that uses too much jargon or an employee that can’t articulate their issue or explain what they’re seeing on their screen can result in wasted time and effort for both parties.
If the issue is unresolved due to the IT help desk being in another location, employees will often turn to other departments whose team members are likely to be technically proficient. Marketing departments and digital teams are known for using smart devices to manage social media accounts, and these teams often become substitute IT admins when the help desk is unavailable. Relying on these adopted IT teams to regularly troubleshoot issues creates unnecessary stress and strain over issues which should be managed by the real IT help desk.
Direct results through remote management
Enterprise mobility management (EMM) solutions, such as Mobile Device Manager Plus, enable IT admins to successfully manage and monitor mobile devices, wireless networks, and other mobile computing services across their organisations. Any organisation that strives to reap the benefits of mobile computing must acknowledge the value in adopting an EMM solution or face a rise in unresolved IT issues across the business as a whole.
Vendors developing these software solutions have been quick to recognise the potential fallout from poor communication between dispersed IT teams and individuals experiencing issues with their mobile devices or the networks that they connect to.
The solution is integrated remote management, developed to simplify the entire process of troubleshooting remote devices by enabling IT admins to access and control employees’ remote devices from their own computers or devices. Available in both cloud and on-premises editions, remote control can assist help desk technicians in resolving tickets much faster because they can access employees’ devices and troubleshoot issues directly.
When faced with device difficulties, employees needn’t waste valuable time trying to resolve the issue on their own. Instead, with the addition of remote troubleshooting, administrators can access employees’ mobile devices remotely at any time and provide support on the go. Admins can take complete control of a user’s device to view its current condition and provide support. Admins can view the device screen in the same way they can share the screen of a desktop. Best all, user privacy is protected, allowing users to grant permission before admins take control of their device.
The mobile computing revolution may be well underway, but if businesses are to benefit from greater productivity through increased convenience, they must ensure their IT teams have sufficient management solutions in place.
Mathivanan Venkatachalam is a director of product management at ManageEngine. Mathivanan has over 20 years of experience in building network management and end point management products at ManageEngine.