Beyond MDM and MFM: What’s Next for BYOD?

In the not-so-distant past, company information, files and data were confined to the four walls of the organization. After 5 p.m., and on weekends and holidays, this information was largely inaccessible to the average employee. Now, the availability of company data is seen in an entirely different light, with employees accessing files from three or four different devices any day of the week.

To address this data protection nightmare brought on by the bring-your-own-device (BYOD) movement, many forward-thinking companies have already implemented mobile device management (MDM) and mobile file management (MFM) tools and procedures. But, as devices continue to become ingrained in the workplace, making it increasingly mobile-centric, it’s important to ask: what’s next?

As we move toward a workplace enriched by mobile apps and devices, it will be important to bridge the gap between old technologies and new… and then back again. Data and processes that have traditionally been relegated to desktops and laptops will gradually become increasingly accessible via mobile devices, so workers can complete tasks on the go from whatever device they prefer. This will create a big boon in mobile app development. But, as easy as it will be to work in a mobile environment, it will need to be just as easy to return to old technologies and pick up right where you left off (because, let’s face it, just like the mainframe never went complete extinct, neither will the desktop).

Enabling this bridge between old and new technologies – from the desktop to the tablet – and back, combined with MDM and MFM technologies, will create a more seamless mobile experience, spanning multiple platforms, environments and channels. And, this professional mobile experience is closer than you think! Forecasts show that tablets alone will overtake PCs in the next two to three years, and IDC predicts that, by 2015, 1.3 billion people will be working from mobile devices.

So, are you ready for what’s next in this mobile BYOD revolution?