Who really cares about BYOD?

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The bring-your-own-device movement is well on its way to fundamentally reshaping enterprise communications. So why do so few organizations seem to care about device management? A fairly wide gap formed almost immediately between BYOD user excitement and enterprise policy engagement, and it's only going to expand.

Entrenched employee attitudes absolving them of responsibility create problems for IT, and many organizations let worker preferences overwhelm clear-cut business priorities. The central problem with BYOD is a company's capacity to show that its cares – not only about the ways that BYOD can be hazardous, but about creating strategies that cater to worker preferences while keeping security at the forefront.

BYOD is clearly important to employees. One recent LANDESK survey found that the average European worker spends more on BYOD every year than he or she does on tea of coffee. They care about having the devices, but not protecting the data stored on them.

"It's not my problem" was a common refrain in a recent survey by Absolute Software about data security in the mobile enterprise. More than a quarter of those surveyed said they felt there should be no penalties for leaked or lost corporate data. Additionally, more than one third of respondents who lost their mobile devices said that they didn't make any changes to their security habits, while 59 percent estimated that their corporate data was barely worth more than the cost of replacing a phone.

Who is to blame for BYOD problems?
It's up to companies to exhibit the same passion for data security that employees have for using their own smartphones. Of those who acknowledged a penalty for data loss might be in order, most received nothing more than a slap on the wrist from employers, and often much less – 21 percent had a talking-to, 30 percent had to replace their lost device themselves and 34 percent reported that "nothing" happened when they lost company information. This reflects poorly on companies, observed Absolute mobile enterprise data expert Tim Williams, and will continue unless companies get proactive about BYOD management.

"If firms don't set clear policies that reflect the priority of corporate data security, they can't expect employees to make it a priority on their own," Williams said.

Establishing and enforcing BYOD practices is a good first step. Regulations have to acknowledge the ways personnel use BYOD and avoid limiting productivity as much as possible. There are several technological tools that can help a company secure mobile devices behind the scenes. Investing in managed infrastructure and IT support services provides a scalable, adaptable and continuous resource for effective network monitoring and data management. 

Desktop virtualization: Why companies need to stop dragging their feet

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Desktop virtualization is a necessary investment that reflects the changing technological paradigm. With employees increasingly mobile and companies more globalized, personnel need to be able to access their desktop operating system and applications from anywhere. Many organizations are eagerly sending data storage to the cloud and investing in as-a-service solutions to better manage and protect growing application environments. However, this accelerated investment wanes when it comes to desktop virtualization. Why? Shouldn't location-independent services extend to the level of the end user?

Cost continues to be an impediment to desktop virtualization in the eyes of many companies. While organizations acknowledge that the Internet offers a much more cost-effective and centralized medium through which to provide enterprise application and information access, they are worried about the expenses involved in reconfiguring enterprise infrastructure to make it compatible, according to a recent TechNavio report. While it's true that this can represent a sizeable capital investment, the long-term operational savings are enormous.

Bearing this in mind, ZDNet contributor Ken Hess wrote that it's surprising that companies are "still having this conversation" about the merits of desktop virtualization. Many companies who are worried about the costs of deploying virtual desktops and other infrastructure are the same ones clinging to hardware that is approaching or past its fifth year in use.Old equipment breaks down more frequently and often costs more to repair, and the more outdated hardware is, the more difficult it is to transition to a new IT program. Newer hardware likely has virtualization capacity. It makes sense to upgrade now, knowing that doing so when it is inevitable or reached a critical point will be extra complex.

Curing data management issues in the healthcare sector

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Data management in the healthcare industry is reaching a tipping point. According to CDW Healthcare, the medical sector is gearing up to massive data growth – the 500 petabytes of data in 2013 are set to rise to 25,000 PBs by 2020. By 2015, the average hospital could be producing around 665 terabytes of data.

It's not just the amount of data that's the issue, but the types of information organizations collect. About 80 percent of data is unstructured, with imaging, scans and video requiring huge swaths of server space. Also, many healthcare providers are storing redundant information – the average hospital has 800,000 total records, but as many as 96,000 are duplicates. They are costly to store, making filing systems and data management efforts more complex without delivering additional security.

While big data offers potential benefits in patient care, research and treatment, the healthcare sector is flailing. In part, it's due to a relatively unique set of circumstances. The healthcare sector is traditionally fairly tech-averse – that acres of file cabinets containing patient records in manila folders still persist is a testament to how difficult it is to go digital. Initiatives such as electronic health records and healthcare information exchanges that increase the value of data have to contend with a slew of compliance, privacy and confidentiality issues.

Data management services can help healthcare organizations wield their vast information reserves in a cost-effective and secure way. Modern information technology infrastructure and business intelligence tools are critical to the effective utilization and protection of game-changing data-driven strategies, wrote Forbes contributor John Foley. Not only are massive file systems difficult to back up in a comprehensive way, many medical providers don't have any idea how long it would take to make files available following an unplanned incident. A data management services provider can help the organization establish a customized storage and backup system that prioritizes continuity and compliance. With people's lives potentially hanging in the balance, it's vital that healthcare providers alleviate big data headaches.

How desktop virtualization satisfies changing business needs

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Desktop virtualization is the natural evolution of a changing business operations landscape. With flexibility and availability becoming higher priorities than ever before, making user interfaces available anywhere can increase productivity, enhance management strategies and cut costs – three outcomes vital to continue fielding a competitive business model. 

In a nutshell, desktop virtualization involves the abstraction of a user's desktop workspace from the physical machine onto a server. It allows the user to log on to his or her desktop interface from anywhere, connecting to applications and files via a data center instead of a single PC.

The nature of work with respect to technology has evolved rapidly in the last few years. Many employees use multiple devices for business, connect through the cloud and conduct a high percentage of their business activity via the Internet. Adherence to traditional workstation technologies would effectively put a cap on how fast an organization can move, mobilize and communicate. A business model based entirely on virtualization and Internet connectivity – which would include laptops, mobile devices and voice over Internet Protocol – could recreate the office for employees located anywhere. BusinessNewsDaily contributor Sara Angeles pointed out.

In today's business world, leaner is better. Changing environments, however, tend to make it easier to add than subtract. More devices, more applications, more security concerns, more equipment – many organizations are hard-pressed to keep costs from escalating out of control. Desktop virtualization helps companies not only corral escalating spending, but keep budgets down in the long term. Organizations can use existing infrastructure or small, targeted investments to build up a robust, virtualized environment quickly and problem free, wrote ZDNet contributor Simon Bisson. Cost-effectiveness is a significant driver for cloud investment, but virtualized infrastructure enables businesses to stretch the benefits of the cloud to all infrastructure as well. It gives companies the resources and breathing room to be able to invest in emerging developments and attack new challenges.

ISG Announces Executive Responsibility Changes

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The Twin Valley family of companies announced leadership changes among their C-Level executives, effective for 2014. John Gunn, President and Co-Founder of ISG Technology, will transition from his current role as President and COO to Chief Strategy Officer of ISG Technology. Gunn will focus on supporting and defining the strategy of ISG Technology.  Gunn currently serves and will remain on the board of directors for all three companies.  Ben Foster, current CEO of all Twin Valley companies, will assume the general management of ISG Technology previously handled by Gunn. Foster will remain President and  CEO for the Twin Valley companies.

“When Twin Valley acquired ISG Technology in 2011 the roadmap and evolution of our company was clear to both John and me,” said Foster. “John has served and will continue to serve as a critical business leader and advisor to the Twin Valley family of companies.  This is a carefully planned transition that will enhance our clients’ ability to attain their organizational goals.”

Additionally, Scott Cissna has joined the Twin Valley companies as CFO, effective January 6, 2014.  Cissna brings more than 20 years of finance experience from the telecommunications, cloud services, and wireless industries.  With his broad base of experience ranging from performing sophisticated analysis to building scalable teams, Cissna is an analytical leader and decision maker hired to help navigate the complex, growing, and rapidly changing landscape where the companies operate.

The Twin Valley family of companies is a privately owned business with diversified investments and holdings in the telecommunications and IT space. The company is diversified through three separate operating entities; Twin Valley Telephone, Twin Valley Communications, and ISG Technology.

Twin Valley Telephone and Twin Valley Communications is the largest privately owned independent telecommunications company in the state of Kansas, providing voice and advanced services in rural areas for more than 65 years.  Over state-of-the-art FTTP infrastructure, Twin Valley’s portfolio includes voice, broadband, television, cloud services, hosted voice, wireless, and security.  Through strategic acquisitions and organic growth, the company has experienced a tenfold growth in the past decade.

ISG Technology is a full spectrum Data Center and IT Infrastructure partner uniquely positioned to provide complete solutions from client premises all the way to the cloud. With more than 30 years of experience, ISG has the unique ability to provide IT equipment (IT Infrastructure), cloud services through a regional Network of Data Centers https://isgtech.com/data-centers (Data Center Services), the required connectivity (Bandwidth) to connect it all together, and the ongoing support to help manage client’s IT environments (ITaaS). ISG places a premium on enduring client relationships and reference-ability – attributes only achievable through deep understanding of client business objectives, authoritative vision of what’s possible, and the relentless commitment to deliver successful solutions.