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Help desk solutions essential for supporting BYOD
January 25, 2012Businesses may need to seriously evaluate the benefits provided by an IT help desk software upgrade as they move to support personal smartphones and tablets in the workplace. According to a recent Network World report, written by Lee Weiner, vice president of support products at LogMeIn, mobile devices are changing how workers get their jobs done, and giving the help desk a more prominent role in operations.
Gone are the days when the help desk was focused on dealing with problems in Windows PCs and the occasional BlackBerry. Now, the report said, businesses need to support a diverse range of smartphones and tablets, or risk significant backlash from an increasingly tech-dependent workforce. The help desk will prove central to supporting bring-your-own-device policies, as business users will increasingly be seeking guidance on how to deal with problems on their mobile devices. Before long, even e-readers could come into play in the enterprise scene.
Investing in new IT help desk software to support mobile devices needs to happen fast, as IDC expects 55 percent of business smartphones will be owned by employees by 2015, the report said. Furthermore, whether the company or the worker owns the device, the user will still depend heavily on the help desk when any operational problems arise.
Businesses can choose to bury their heads in the sand and try to ignore this trend, but the report warned that doing so will likely create major problems among workers. Mobile devices allow workers to get their jobs done more effectively, and most employees recognize this. Furthermore, most mobile device users experience significant flexibility, helping them balance work and life and be happier at their jobs. As a result, companies that clamp down on smartphones and tablets could create major problems for themselves, according to the news source.
Upgrading the IT help desk, while essential, is not the only consideration that businesses need to keep in mind when it comes supporting bring-your-own-device policies. Organizations also should put mobile device management systems into place and integrate the platforms with their CMDB architecture. This gives companies more control over their operating environments, something that is absolutely essential in light of the increased flexibility and endpoint security risks associated with personal smartphone and tablet use in the enterprise. Without such investments in place, businesses may struggle to create a secure enough environment to enable effective BYOD.