Bach Seat

In a recent article on the Forbes CIO Central blog, Dan Woods interviewed Brian Madocks, CEO of PC Helps, a services firm that provides supplemental help desk services for more than 1.6 million end-users. He has been on the front lines as many of its clients have opened up BYOD.

In the article, Forbes offers advice on how IT departments can respond to users who show up at work and declare: “I want an iPad.”  The author warns that ignoring the corporate use of personal devices (smartphones, iPad’s and other tablets) leave both end-users and the IT department quite unhappy.

Mr. Madocks says the biggest myth is that allowing personal devices to be used for work-related purposes reduces the support burden. At first, this seems strange. If people use devices they know well, shouldn’t they need less help? Also, if an employee is using an iPhone or iPad, won’t their support questions be handled by AppleCare, Apple’s support arm? Mr. Madocks says no. Consumerization reduces some types of support but generates others. Here’s what happens.

The number of calls about how to use the device may go down. People know how to use their phones, get on the Internet, and use Facebook. But the number of calls about how to get their corporate email, calendar, and contacts working on phones or tablets may go up. With Apple (AAPL) iPhones and iPads and the fragmented Google (GOOG) Android versions out there it’s even more complicated. The PC Helps CEO reports that users can be frustrated when they go to Apple’s Genius Bar, AppleCare, or to Google for Andriod support and find out that they won’t get any help there because the staff doesn’t know how to support your corporate environment or the applications used within it.

With a multitude of personal devices in your workforce, the support burden may increase and your help desk may not be able to keep up with the unique features and aspects of all the devices. Mr. Madocks concludes that no matter how you allow access to the corporate resources the support burden NEVER disappears.

The support experts from the PC Helps brain-trust, developed a playbook for organizations considering a Bring Your Own Device model:

Don’t just say no to “bring your own technology”: The cat is out of the bag. End users are more productive when they have a vote on the tools they use and their support. PC Helps suggests IT show some leadership and help figure out how to get BYOD (PDF) right so that the company is protected and the users are happy. Recognize that consumerization means giving up some control; learn to live with that.

Listen to the end-users: Create an internal customer advisory group to allow end-users to explain what they want and what they don’t. The article says one of the primary drivers of consumerization is the wish to have work and personal content and capabilities on a single device. Craft a draft set of policies and guidelines based on this input.

Research and test your approach: Consider a pilot program before full rollout that includes a mix of key users. Discover the range and types of preferred devices as well as the corporate systems, networks, and applications users will need access to. The blog recommends that you incorporate your findings into the broader rollout plan.

Document and communicate a clear set of policies and guidelines for end-users: Everyone should know what the company policies are for personal devices and where to find them. Explicit review of policies and testing for understanding should be performed from time to time, or as new devices arrive and raise new issues. The policies should set forth:

• Which devices will be supported.
• How to request new/more devices,
• Which apps are authorized,
• Which apps are forbidden,
• How to get approval for new apps,
• What company data is allowed on personal devices,
• How to get support for devices and applications.

The policies should also answer the following questions:

• When a device is no longer used for work or an employee leaves, what are their responsibilities to securely deletion corporate data?
• Where and how will devices be backed up?
• Who is responsible for backup?
• Are lock and password-protection required, and how is it managed?
• Who will provide support?
• What kind of support questions should be directed to device manufacturers?

Plan for a more complex support burden: Allowing personal devices means a world with more devices, which in turn multiplies the knowledge needed from the help desk. There will be more questions on setup, remote access, and use of corporate applications, as well as problems unique to the different devices. There will be more complex support scenarios, such as, how to use Microsoft Office applications on non-PC devices. Be sure you have a support plan and trained people in place.

Don’t rely on device manufacturers for support of your end-users: Manufacturers can handle break/fix and warranty support on products, but they won’t know your corporate policies, processes, nor the core office applications your users work with every day. Apple iPad owners have access to AppleCare and Genius bars, but this is all geared to consumers. AppleCare won’t help with many synchronization issues related to accessing corporate email on the iPad, nor provide urgent support for deadline-related business situations.

End-users may get the run-around, going to the manufacturer and then to their wireless service provider, to your internal help desk, and to peer support for help, wasting time and productivity on something that could be solved in a single call. Devices for corporate use should have corporate support or they will present a risk to IT’s reputation in the organization.

Prepare your help desk for the task: The help desk in a BYOD IT environment is a different type of organization, one that must be able to respond to the unexpected. Mixed device environments require specialization and expertise, as well as ongoing training and skill-building. Your existing help desk staff may need to be retrained, expanded, or supplemented.

In the end, Mr. Madocks reports that the firms PC Helps assists in consumerization don’t regret their decision. “While consumerization creates complexity for support … The company’s workforce is happier and more productive, and the reputation of IT as a supporter of the business is greatly enhanced.” The end result is generally happier users and happier IT, but there are complications.

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It is my experience that most people who push consumer devices into the enterprise, don’t have a plan. They want their iPads, for valid or not so valid reasons. Some staff seemed surprised when they could not print to the enterprise printer on the enterprise network with the iPad they just brought in.

I place a great deal of the blame at the feet of Apple. I have had Apple engineers look me straight in the face and tell me that iPads are consumer devices and not designed for the enterprise and that Apple does not intend to fix it.

They do not use standard protocols and BYOD proponents don’t even know what Bonjour is, let alone the limitations of Bonjour.

Related articles

• Marc Andreessen: BYOD Isn’t Going Anywhere (ceo.com)

Ralph Bach has been in IT long enough to know better and has blogged from his Bach Seat about IT, careers, and anything else that catches his attention since 2005. You can follow him on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter. Email the Bach Seat here.