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Chapter 4 Hardware, Software, and Mobile Systems
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of the time. Once you’re always on and remote, it doesn’t matter if you’re always on in New Jersey
or at a ski area in Vermont. New lifestyle choices become possible for such workers.
These mobile workers can work where they want and for whom they want. There won’t be a
boss looking over their shoulder. They can work multiple jobs with different companies at the same
time! Companies may have to change the way they pay workers. Instead of paying employees by
the hour, they would need to focus more on paying for productivity. This shift toward focusing
on performance will empower great employees and make it harder for slackers to hide out in an
organization. Companies will benefit from mobile workers too. They won’t need as much expensive
commercial office space. What an incredible time to be starting a business career!

Q4-7 What Are the Challenges of Personal Mobile

Devices at Work?

Protecting company computers and So far, we’ve focused on mobile applications that organizations create for their customers and
software from malware is essential others to use. In this question we will address the use of mobile systems within organizations.
to corporate success. Read the In truth, organizations today have a love/hate relationship with their employees’ use of their
Security Guide on pages 184–185
to learn about one of the most own mobile devices at work. They love the cost-saving possibility of having employees buy their
virulent technological threats. own hardware, but they hate the increased vulnerability and loss of control. The result, at least
today, is a wide array of organizational attitudes.
Consider a recent Gartner report that estimates by 2016, nearly 38 percent of companies will
37
stop providing devices to their workers altogether. You’ll have to bring your own device. David
Willis, a senior analyst at Gartner, notes, “BYOD strategies are the most radical change to the eco-
38
nomics and the culture of client computing in business in decades.” Yet only 43 percent of all
organizations have created an official mobile-use policy. 39
Advantages and Disadvantages of Employee Use
of Mobile Systems at Work

Figure 4-22 summarizes the advantages and disadvantages of employee use of mobile systems at
work. Advantages include the cost savings just mentioned as well as greater employee satisfac-
tion of using devices that they chose according to their own preferences rather than organization-
supplied PCs. Because employees are already using these devices for their own purposes, they need
less training and can be more productive. All of this means reduced support costs.
On the other hand, employee use of mobile devices has significant disadvantages. First, there
is the real danger of lost or damaged data. When data is brought into employee-owned comput-
ing devices, the organization loses control over where it goes or what happens to it. In May 2012,
IBM disallowed the use of Apple’s voice searching application, Siri, on employees’ mobile devices
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for just that reason. Also, if an employee loses his or her device, the data goes with it, and when
employees leave the organization, the data on their personal devices needs to be deleted somehow.

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