Chromebooks Updates [Sept 2013]

Announcement

We're always trying to bring more value to our customers. Starting today we'll be sending a summary of all the new features to ChromeOS & the management console as a monthly email newsletter.

We invite you to share this newsletter with all Google Apps users in your organization, and invite them to subscribe, so that they can stay informed about recent updates to get the most out of Google Apps.

Notable new features include:

• Custom Terms of Service - upload your own terms of service agreement
• Disable "Add-User" - Admins can disable the ability for chromebooks users to add new users
• Immersive Mode - which hides toolbar and shelf for a less distracted viewing experience
• Monitor Scaling - which can help free up more screen real estate.
• App Launcher Search Updates - dynamically learn what you search for, apps are more prominent, search web store if you don't have app installed
• Pin Apps to Shelf - Drag & Drop apps to shelf to pin them
• Wallpaper Sync - default wallpaper will now sync across devices

Full release notes below...

Protect Students With Web Filtering

Securly protects students on computers throughout the school while giving them safe access to 21st century learning tools like YouTube, Google and Wikipedia.

• Safe Search
• Safe Social Media
• YouTube for Schools
• and more...

Learn More

Admin Console Updates

Upload Custom terms of service agreement
Instructions can be found here.

Disable "Add-User"
This update can be found in the "Restict sign-in" settings. For more visit this Google help doc.

Image Searching Made Easier

"Search Google" option now available

Right-click or long-press on an image and select the option to search using your default search provider.
(Source)

Smarter Onmibox Suggestions

Based on recency of websites visited

New updates to the omnibox will provide you with suggestions based on the recency of websites. The suggestions should be more contextually relevant.
(Source)

Reset Browser Settings

Too many extensions!!!

Restore Chrome back to its original state via the Chrome settings page.

1) Click the hashed menu icon
2) Select Settings
3) Click Show advanced settings
4) Click on the button labeled "Reset browser settings"
(Source)

Release 29.0.1547.70 (Platform version: 4319.79.0)

Release to all Chrome OS Devices
Some highlights of these changes are:

• Fix flash games sites running out of file descriptors and causing system to freeze. (279301)
• Fix link to redeem Chrome goodies in the Files app

More Info

Release 29.0.1547.66 [Windows] (29.0.1547.65 [Mac & Linux])

This update contains a flash update and fixes an issue with Sync.

More Info

Release 29.0.1547.62

Platforms: Windows, Mac, Linux, Chrome Frame
This update fixes an issue with printing from Google Docs applications.

More Info

Release 29.0.1547.57 (Platform version: 4319.74.0)

Release to all Chrome OS Devices
Some highlights of these changes are:

• Kernel 3.8 landed on Pixel and Samsung 550. 
• New “immersive” mode - hit the fullscreen button to hide the toolbar and shelf and until you hover at the top for a more immersive browsing experience. 
• Pin apps to the shelf using Drag and Drop from the Launcher 
• Default wallpaper selection will sync across all your devices 
• Monitor Scaling allows you to scale the UI. Especially useful on Pixel to get some more space 
• Two-finger history navigation 
• App launcher Search just got cleverer
  • It will dynamically learn what you search for 
  • Apps are more prominent 
  • It will search for you in the web store if you don’t have an app installed 

Known Issues: 

• The link to redeem your Chrome Goodies in the Files app is temporarily broken and will be fixed with the next release. In the meantime, please go here directly. 

More Info

Managing Mobile Devices - Platform Reviews

It’s a big world out there. Lots of places to go and people to see. Also, lots of places to lose your mobile device and a fair few people who may want to nab it from you. Fortunately, different developers are coming up with solutions that help you protect your device - or at the very least your data.

Droid Does

First to weigh in, Google has released it’s own device manager for Android devices, called Google Apps Device Policy. You can access this tool from any browser by visiting google.com/apps/mydevices. Installing is super easy: just pull up the app from the Play Store (Or scan the QR code that will display from the device manager on your browser). Once it installs, just ‘add device’ from a browser, sync the device, and you’re good to go.


Your domain’s administrator can require that users have a pin or password, set an idle-out screen lock, and wipe the device. Additionally, the device’s user can remotely change their pin, lock their screen, and cause the device to ring out (for those ‘lost in the couch’ scenarios). Also, if the device’s GPS is active, the user can track it.

This tool does require that the domain you sync to is a Google Apps for Business or Education user as well as a minimum system requirement of Android 2.2 or better, but the app’s integration is pretty seamless. However, being an Android-only solution does limit this tool’s usability in a BYOD environment

Up in the Air

Sand Studio’s AirDroid has recently iterated, and what used to be simply a cable-free way to access the data on your phone from a computer, has added many of the tools Google’s Apps Device Policy brings to the table while maintaining all the other goodies that the app has to offer.

AirDroid 2, as it’s labeled on the Apps Store, will do some of the basics that Apps Device Policy will: Remote wipe, remote screen lock, remote password change, GPS tracking, and ring-out a beacon for phone-finding. There is one additional feature that definitely piques interest, however: You can set the device to snap a photo whenever someone fails to enter a proper lock-code and send that photo to you! A very powerful tool.

Unfortunately, AirDroid 2 is not designed with fleet management in mind, and so there isn’t a tool for managing multiple devices from a single dashboard. Though there is always the make-a-big-clumsy-spreadsheet method of doing things.

Meraki-and-Roll

Meraki offers an absolutely free MDM solution that is rather comprehensive. The install is simple enough: Sign up at Meraki.com to access their Systems Manager, pull the app down from either the Apple or Play store, respectively, then plug in the code that the manager console gives you when you ‘add a device’ from your browser.

Once you’re in and have some devices attached you can configure the extensive options. The dashboard give you an overview of all the devices attached to your account. Pulling up each device gives detailed information including: charge status, storage capacity, serial number, IMEI, phone number, data for the network it’s attached to, plus more. Here, you can also clear your passcode, lock your device, erase the whole thing (or target certain data with a selective wipe), ring a beacon, and send a message to display a-la text message.

You can also review any apps installed on the device and, while you can’t remove them, you can restrict the install of new apps, as well as make a whole other list of restrictions including Face-time, screen capturing, Youtube (for iOS), and camera use (both).
You can also require that a user set a passcode, configure WIFI and VPN settings remotely, and push documents from the web by using the ‘backpack’ feature.

To make MDM life easier, the Meraki platform allows you to create different profiles for different user groups, so you don’t have to configure each device separately.

You can also receive email alerts for a host of events, including network enrollment, app installation, or removal of the Meraki app! Remote destop functionality exists, and while not device-agnostic, it does cater to both Apple and Android users.

Decisions, decisions...

Though all 3 of these options share a lot of basic functionality, there are enough differences to really make these MDMs varied and interesting. If your fleet is all Android or Chrome powered, for example, maybe Mobile Apps Policy is the way your org should go. For a true BYOD environment, however, there’s just no beating Meraki’s device-agnostic platform. Then again, the potentially-thief-stopping snap-shot power of AirDroid 2 is not something to be discounted.

I know there are plenty more MDMs on the market and would love to hear what you’re using. Just leave a quick comment below so that others can find it. I’ll pull from your comments and write up another review.

Don't know where to start?! Feeling intimidated?!

Newmind Group will help identify key areas of improvement and manage the project from start-to-finish eliminating your headaches!

Contact Us

Jarad Selner is a new member of Newmind Group's Chromebooks team, working with schools, non-profit groups and businesses to deploy and integrate Google Chrome devices within their organizations.

In his off-time, he can be found booking bands, teaching music lessons, and playing at a variety of venues in and around the great city of Kalamazoo, Mi.

Taking Advantage of Data

“The most valuable commodity I know of is information.”  - Gordon Gekko, Wall Street (the movie released in 1987)

The time and resource commitments required to calculate a return on investment or determine if conference attendees would prefer a turkey or ham sandwich are much different than they were a generation ago. In fact data-crunching tools are improving at a near constant pace and every few years there are better ones. Because of this new reality the percentage of data-driven decisions we make can and should increase.

Big Important Decisions

There are numerous examples of how really important decisions are being made better and faster because of this new reality, like this TedTalk given by Joel Selanikio: The surprising seeds of a big-data revolution in healthcare, telling the fascinating story of how the introduction of Palm Pilots in 1995 began a revolution in collecting and analyzing data on important global health statistics.

Small Not-As-Important Decisions

I think we should take this new reality a step further and recognize that because the cost of data-crunching is approaching zero we should be using it all the time, for all kinds of decisions.

For example, here at Newmind our leadership team is particularly benevolent. We’ve been growing recently and needed more office space. The leadership team sent all of us this one question Google Form to get our input on what was most important to us in office space.

Because this was so quick to create and natively tied to a spreadsheet with automatic graphing of the results, finding out what would be extra motivating to Newmind’s employees and then crunching that data took less than 5 minutes from start to finish. This simplicity was the difference between our busy C-Levelers deciding to get our input vs just making an ‘executive decision.’ And the result is we all love our new space!

Why don’t we increase the number and variety of decisions we make driven by data?

1. Perceived Cost
2. Habit

Perceived Cost

It is easy to forget how easy data collection and analysis has become. Our past experiences lead us to believe that it will be very tedious and time consuming to first collect, then organize, and then analyze data.

‘This decision’s timeframe will become so lengthy and inefficient’ we think to ourselves. We start rationalizing that quickly making a decision with our ‘gut’ will probably be just as good anyways.

We have to catch ourselves in this moment and remind ourselves that data collection, organization, and analysis is not what it used to be.

Habitualizing Data Crunching

Our decision-making routines won’t change on their own.

We need to habitualize collecting data, analyzing data, and giving the data respect in decisions. I suggest that you treat all decisions, important and trivial, as opportunities to inculcate your selection process with a data crunching step.

Life In The New Reality

Here at Newmind we use data to make decisions as often as possible. One of the first things I was taught to do after starting here was to A/B test everything I could and improve how I did things based on the results. I liked the improvements this routine identified for me so much I’ve changed habits in my personal life and have recently data-crunched my way through buying a car and selecting a new financial institution for my family, just to give you a few examples.

Using data to inform my decisions, both big and small, has given me more confidence with what I choose. That additional confidence and the fact that my decisions, driven by data, are giving me better results is making me a happier person. Nothing but sunshine and rainbows for Michael J.

Seriously though. I challenge you to give data-crunching a try on something you otherwise wouldn’t and add to the conversation with some feedback on how it worked out. If you are not sure which data-crunching tools to use, give me or one of my Newmind teammates a shout.

Michael Jefferies is happiest when problems are being solved and life is becoming more awesome.

At Newmind, Michael consults with clients to discover their organizational objectives and works alongside them to identify, analyze, and implement technologies that can help take them there. He believes that technology is not merely a part of business, but in fact provides endless opportunities to increase fun, efficiency and profitability.

BYOD vs Standardization - SaaS makes it easy

I started this BYOD series to show that the root of this conversation isn't about devices, specifically, but instead business goals. This post, the 3rd installment of the BYOD vs Standardization series, will touch on a few security misconceptions and strategies for becoming device agnostic. If you're not familiar with device standardization head back to the first post of this series, BYOD vs Standardization - Understanding Your Mobile Strategy Pt1. (Understanding the various device policy models can give insight into how to implement what this post will discuss, so check out part 2, BYOD to COPE: The Mobility Spectrum.

What is driving the mobile device discussion?

Without going into specifics of device policies and standardization, the reason for this discussion is productivity & mobility. Businesses want their employees to be productive and employees want to be mobile - use new technology that affords them new freedoms, like the ability to work where and when they can be most productive. A $2 cup of coffee is now a passport to internet connection, productivity, and better business - not to mention work-life balance.

Mobile Security Misconceptions

We've talked about business data security before. Stories about malware and hackers, like the Syrian Electronic Army hacking the NYTimes and Twitter websites, are everywhere and concentrate on the hackers. This sensationalism minimizes the root cause of the hack - HUMAN ERROR. The reason hackers in Syria were able to access these prominent websites was due to a lack of security protocols addressing human action in providing security credentials.

According to Financial Review, "The incursion was traced to India-based perpetrators who fooled staff at a US-based reseller of Melbourne IT ­services into handing over personal details and, as a result, the login and passwords which allowed someone to access and change key details for the websites."

Firewalls, anti-malware, double authentication, etc, would not have helped the NYTimes or Twitter avoid this intrusion, as the hackers had legitimate login credentials. One might want to move data to self-managed servers, implement extreme security measures that require access to particular network to gain access, etc. Is this really the answer?

Concentrating on network best practices and on policies that promote responsible actions by your employees are the better and so is allowing Software as a Service (SaaS) providers do what they do best.

SaaS vs Self-Managed

SaaS providers are specialists, not only in their software, but in storing the data they work with. The data passed through their systems are their "bread-and-butter" and securing it is in their best interest. So much so that many SaaS providers have their data stored in SSAE16 data centers (audited by 3rd parties), have implemented biometric safe-gaurds, 24/7 staffed security and foot patrols, environmental controls, advanced firewalls, backups & redundancies.

I know what you're thinking - "I can do that." True, but are you going to be as good at it while still being great at running your business?

Benefits of SaaS

Now that we've established it’s better to let a service provider be the expert of a solution, letting you be the expert of running your business, what are the benefits you can realize by going SaaS?

• Low cost for multiple device support
  SaaS platforms are looking to gain a broad user base and therefore build their platforms to run on most, if not all, popular platforms, browsers, operating systems, etc.
• No Cost Updates
  SaaS providers strive to stay relevant as new devices and platforms are released and will continue to update their platform so that your employees can access business data, with no update costs to your company.
• Zero Tech Debt
  Your company doesn't have to worry about maintaining a server, upgrading it, being relegated to outdated software
• True mobility
  The fact that (good) SaaS platforms are accessible by any device and any platform means that your employees have access anywhere, anytime - staying productive! Check out What's going on at Greenleaf Hospitality since they migrated over to Google Apps.

Downsides to SaaS

Let's keep this objective and be sure to touch on some downsides to SaaS:

• Lack of update control
  While the exact roadmap of platform updates is out of your control, most SaaS providers have a community where their user base can influence or suggest new features and development. Let's face it, letting them deal with staffing a large developer team is saving you hundreds of thousands a year. Not to mention they'll roll out with updates faster.
• Requires reliable web connection
  Putting your data in the "cloud", as it were, means that for your employees to be productive you'll need consistent reliable internet uptime and access. As most business is conducted online anyway, I'm pretty sure this one is covered. If your employees want to be mobile and work off-site, they probably already know how to find reliable connections.

Where to Start!?

Rolling out SaaS to every aspect of the company isn't realistic. Look to smaller sections or units of your business or department where data is database driven, requires network connections, and can be easily searched/filtered/queried. Look at some of these SaaS platforms to improve your operations:

• Project/process management - Podio, Trello, Basecamp
• Email - Gmail/Google Apps
• Document Collaboration - Drive/Google Apps
• Accounting - Freshbooks
• Marketing/Sales - Mailchimp, Marketo, CRM software, Streak, etc.

Many of these solutions have free versions or trial periods to help you evaluate usefulness, efficiency and implementation strategies.

Capitalize on efficiencies of scale, by moving to a SaaS provider and give your employees the freedom of mobility and increase productivity.

Don't know where to start?! Feeling intimidated?!

Newmind Group will help identify key areas of improvement and manage the project from start-to-finish eliminating your headaches!

Contact Us

Daniel Proczko has been working with organizations and individuals to build & grow the entrepreneur community of Kalamazoo, MI. From organizing TEDx events, hack-a-thons, and documentary screenings to engaging with business leaders, Dan strives to inspire individuals with new ideas and better thinking.

Having always been interested in tech and understanding the value of innovation through IT, communicating the importance of strategic IT thinking is one of Dan's primary goals within Newmind Group.

Chromebooks for Education: A Student’s View

As a high school senior and an intern at Newmind Group I see the need for technology in education and the struggles that many people face with it. In school these days, not having a computer can put a student at a severe disadvantage. Teachers expect you to type papers, create slide shows, and accomplish other tasks that require a computer in your free time. This can be a struggle for students without a computer of their own.

2 major struggles that I’ve had include:

• Finding a device to work on
  While using computers at school or at a library is an option, it is inconvenient and the environment is not always conducive to accomplishing school work. Not to mention availability is always an issue when dealing with publicly accessible devices.
• Saving & Transporting Files
  You also have to worry about how you save & transport files. Every teacher that I know stresses the importance of saving every document three times to guard against data loss. Without a personal device I’ve had to email myself, save to a USB drive, or to my Google Apps account at my school. (That last one isn’t so bad as I can get to it anywhere I have internet access, which is what I’ll touch on in a little bit.)

The problem escalates as I look forward and begin to think about college, where a laptop/PC is considered a necessary tool for learning. A 2012 study by Google found that 86% of all college students supplement what they learn in class with digital media, today I would assume that number is even higher. A computer therefore becomes a necessary tool for a college student and therefore a necessary expense. The same study found that 45% of college students pay for all of their college costs (tuition, room, board, books, and other expenses). This means that most students will choose a computer based largely on the cost of the device, even if the device is not ideal for their needs.

As a student I love the features of the Samsung 303 Chromebook that I’m using. It is very light and has an average battery life of seven hours with constant use, or about three days when in standby, which makes it extremely portable. I am a pretty heavy user and usually have anywhere from ten to fifteen tabs open at a time while I check my email, edit documents, spreadsheets, and do research simultaneously. I mainly use my Chromebook for work so I am constantly editing spreadsheets, doing research, creating documents, and writing code. Despite this heavy usage, the Chromebook has always remained lightning fast.

The greatest advantage of saving my work in Google Drive, which automatically saves changes while I’m working on a document, is the ability to access it wherever there is an internet connection, with any computer, while still having it saved to my Chromebook for offline access. By using Google Drive I can share my work with any other Google user and collaborate with them on documents. When I collaborate with other users we can all simultaneously edit the document and add comments to communicate. I use the collaboration feature constantly when a teacher assigns a group project. In fact, my AP Government class actually used Google Drive to create a unified copy of our notes so that we could compare them and help each other. (I also used the collaborative features in Google Drive to get help editing this post.)

The compelling feature to many students may be the low cost, with the Samsung 303 Chromebook starting at $249 compared to a basic laptop that starts around $300. Most laptops/PCs that would be adequate for student use are closer to the $400-$500 range. A chromebook also has the added advantage of coming with an extra 100 GB of Google Drive cloud storage free for two years, a service that would usually cost $4.99 a month.

This table shows the cost of ownership of a Chromebook vs a low-end and midrange Ultrabook and Macbooks over four years. I chose to use Ultrabooks and Macbooks for comparison because they are the devices that are similar in size, weight, and battery life; aspects that are very important when you are carrying it all day.

Device:	Samsung 303 Chromebook	Dell Inspiron 14z Ultrabook (it’s pretty basic)	Dell XPS 12 Ultrabook (this is a midrange model)	Apple Macbook Pro with Retina Display 13”	Apple Macbook Air 13”
Longevity: (years)	2	2	3+	3+	3+
Cost:	$249	$549	$1,199	$1,499	$1,099
Extras:	100Gb Google Drive Storage**: $4.99/mo	Office 365 University: $79	Office 365 University: $79	Office 365 University: $79	Office 365 University: $79
Total: (Over 4 years)*	$738	$1,178	$1,278	$1,578	$,1178

* Totals assume the replacement of devices every 2 years.
** New purchases of Chromebooks come with 100Gb of free Google Drive space for 2 years, but I’ll calculate the cost as if I was paying for Google Drive Cloud Storage.

As I finish high school and move to college I know that I will be taking a Chromebook with me because of its portability, price, and features. Using a Chromebook will allow me to easily guard against data loss, and allow me to access my data through Google Drive from any computer with an internet connection. Google Drive will also provide a suite of applications for collaborative and creative use that is easily accessible and free. A chromebook will also be extremely portable at 2.4lbs with a seven hour battery life, while still saving me more than $500 over four years.

Protect Students With Web Filtering

Securly protects students on computers throughout the school while giving them safe access to 21st century learning tools like YouTube, Google and Wikipedia.

• Safe Search
• Safe Social Media
• YouTube for Schools
• and more...

Learn More

Tyler Triemstra is a new intern at Newmind Group. He works on internal improvements to make the sales process more efficient, but mainly, he is learning a ton from the team at Newmind. He has a passion for technology and enjoys being part of a team that helps businesses use technology effectively.

Tyler is a senior in high school who enjoys reading, traveling, and volunteering. He can’t wait to graduate from high school and is busily searching for a college to attend.

IT at the Small and Growing company

This post was originally published to Daniel Jefferies' Medium blog feed.

“A company this size can’t afford mistakes.”

For the last 13 years or so I’ve been working on IT with great folks in small, mid-sized and large organizations all over the country. In that time I’ve noticed that just as businesses change as they grow so do the IT departments that serve them. As the business changes, the IT challenges change. Sometimes the IT department keeps up with these challenges and sometimes they get stuck in the ways of the past. I want to start today by looking at the IT needs of Small and Growing businesses which many times have no IT department of their own. In future posts I also plan to cover lessons learned in working with IT in Mid-Sized and Scaling businesses as well as Large and Transforming organizations.

Impact Athletic builds quality work surfaces and storage equipment for Athletic Trainers.

Impact Athletic builds quality work surfaces and storage equipment for Athletic Trainers. I’m a entrepreneur at heart. I love to meet people that are starting something new. Kevin Mcleod and his company Impact Athletic are great examples of this type of small and growing company. Like most small organizations they have no IT department of their own.

“I love tech, I love shiny new things, but I was absolutely frightened by what we had to tackle in IT.” recalls Kevin.

Like many small companies, Impact started out using whatever consumer technologies were at hand. Personal email accounts, a copy of Quickbooks and whatever hardware seemed to be the best deal at the local big box electronics retailer or online. This approach works great at the very beginning but as the company grows this “just use what you have” approach begins to breakdown.
Kevin realized very quickly that he needed an IT partner to get him set up with the right tools so his team could “move fast.” Kevin selected Newmind to be that partner and in Kevin’s words Impact had “infrastructure overnight.”

When I asked Kevin why he had chosen to invest in an IT partner he said, “A company this size can’t afford mistakes.”

I really like working with companies like Kevin’s but not all small companies his size make the smart decisions he did. I’ve noticed that they usually have some common challenges and some make common mistakes. Here are the challenges and mistakes that I have observed other companies making in IT during their small and growing phase.

3 Challenges

1. Can’t afford the IT help that they really need.
2. Need good IT to stay productive and win against larger competitors.
3. Often the owners of the company aren’t strong on IT and feel frustrated having to make decisions without advice from a trusted and experienced advisor.

3 Common Mistakes

1. Most business owners wait too long to find an IT partner that can be a trusted advisor and take the IT workload off the owner’s shoulders.
2. Many small companies develop defacto IT people. Sarah in accounting knows a bit about IT so all the questions go to her. Before you know it she is spending half her time on the accounts payable and half on IT. Her accounts payable workload is suffering and the IT work isn’t getting done very well either. She’s probably frustrated as well and thinking of leaving because no one appreciates all the extra work she is doing.
3. In the early stages companies tend to work harder not smarter. They hire more people to do labor intensive manual tasks rather than getting IT help to make the people they have more productive. From a cost perspective they end up spending much more than they would have if they had made a larger investment in IT at an earlier point in time.

3 Recommendations

1. Find an affordable IT Partner early in the life of the business.
   Your people will be more productive and happy and you will have more time to grow the business and fewer IT headaches to distract you.
2. Invest in the right tools for your team.
   Many small business owners have tight budgets. When it is time for a better email system, a customer relationship management (CRM) system or other tools they tend to drag their feet because of the cost. If you have an IT partner as a trusted advisor early on this can help you make an informed decision. They will probably tell you that to attract the right people you need the right tools. Failing to invest in the right tools can create a frustrating environment and make it difficult to retain your best employees.
3. Stay flexible.
   Look for an IT partner like Kevin did and sign a flexible agreement with them. Choose IT tools that are flexible and have short term commitments, a la carte pricing options and trial periods. Your business is growing fast and you need to be able to make changes quickly if needed. If you are a small business owner or manager I hope some of the information in this post validates some of the great decisions that you’ve made regarding your IT. If you see some mistakes you’ve made I hope I’ve given enough information to help you make corrections. If you have any questions please feel free to reach out to me by leaving a comment or on twitter @heydjeff.

Daniel Jefferies is the founder of Newmind Group. Based in Kalamazoo, Michigan, Newmind Group began as a small, regional IT company in 2003. Since then, we have opened offices in Charleston, Minneapolis, and Silicon Valley, and have grown in scope and size to become a national provider of cloud computing solutions for businesses of all sizes. Our specialty is moving legacy systems to more cost effective and reliable cloud based systems hosted by Google, Amazon, and Rackspace.

BYOD to COPE: The Mobility Spectrum

This is part 2 of our look at mobile policy strategy and the great mobility debate. Be sure to read the first post, "BYOD vs Standardization - Understanding Your Mobile Strategy," to explore device standardization.

Environment & History

Look around the office of 10 years ago, and you’d probably find basically the same place as today. Sure, we have better computers now, but those are basically the same boxes as before.  So, in terms of tech, what’s changed?  For that answer we need to look in our pockets.

10 years ago, if you needed your work email on the go, you got a Blackberry.  Spreadsheets Presentations?  ThinkPad.  Fast forward to now, and you probably have a device in your pocket that an do all of that, and faster.  Wireless devices - whether phone, tablet, laptop, or any of the hybrids in between - have become indispensable at work.


So how to balance the needs of a mobile business community with security concerns, financial overheads & employee morale?  If we imagine the different possible configurations on a graph, it might look something like this:

What are my Mobile device policy Options?

With BYOD (Bring Your Own Device), the risks of unmanaged devices accessing and housing company data are mitigated by IT implementing management controls.  When this happens on an employee’s device, it can negate the freedoms BYOD is championed for.    The amount of employee satisfaction drops sharply, due to feelings of being hijacked.  When implementing BYOD try not to mandate controls on the devices, but instead look to create data access controls. This will keep morale up and also productivity.

Using the COPE (Corporate-Owned Personally-Enabled) model, the sweet spot for installing management software and controls is larger.  Since the device (and mobile plan) is paid for by the company, and since employees can customize it to their liking,  most workers are more apt to graciously allow a moderate level of company management without that nagging feeling of being boxed in or watched over.

Further options

You’re not relegated to BYOD or COPE.  There are a plethora of other options you can explore them and find the best fit for your culture.  Here are a few:

• CYOD (Choose Your Own Device)
  A liberated form of standardization, employees select a device from an approved list
• CLEO (Corporate Liable, Employee Owned)
  Reverse BYOD, where employee owns hardware and company pays for service
• BYOC (Bring Your Own Cloud)
  Not a mobility policy itself, but can be used to augment an existing setup

Criteria for Deciding

All the above are really different configurations to the same end: accessing data ubiquitously. Company culture and data access needs will be major factors in deciding how to form a mobile policy.  Here are some points to consider when shaping yours.

• What platforms can your IT staff support?
• What level of data mobility does each employee group need (CRM, financial, legal, procedural, everything)?
• What security requirements do you have for each type of data?
• How valuable is data ubiquity to your workers?
• How important is device freedom to your company culture?

Beyond these, there are bound to be company-specific criteria you’ll need to consider as well.  The best answer may end up being a full commitment for a specific model, or you may find choosing different models for different employee groups makes the most sense.  The point is to select the plan that best conforms to you.

Conclusion

As we all move forward into this tech-rich future, there will be new devices that again change the standard business paradigm.  To get the most out of these nascent capabilities, remaining aware of the full spectrum of options and how others are implementing them will be key to a future-ready company.

Part 3 of this series can be found here, "BYOD vs Standardization - SaaS makes it easy"

Luke Reynolds is a new member of Newmind's IT managed services team. Previously he worked with schools, not-for-profits, and businesses to help them acquire and deploy Google Chromebooks on the enterprise level.

Luke Reynolds enjoys writing, music, film, and any form of radical human expression. He's also a rabid proponent of Kalamazoo's local roller derby team, the Killamazoo Derby Darlins.