Go Mobile, Stay Secure

Our work environment is becoming increasingly mobile. The global economy has set new standards for communications, productivity and customer expectations in the working life.

Partners and customers expect immediate responses to their inquiries. Delays in service often result in serious damage to the profitability of operations and in the worst case complete loss of business opportunities. On the other hand, ability to serve the customers on location in real-time is a significant competitive advantage.

One of the most promising solutions to meet the pressing need to provide instant service is the introduction of mobile business applications and handheld devices as business tools.

Mobile business applications can bring significant benefits to corporations and organizations that need to operate close to their partners and customers. In addition to considerable time savings, being able to access the latest corporate data instantly with the possibility of storing the latest changes to a mobile device serves as a basis for better service and new business models.

The fast growth of the number of mobile devices in business use affects the basic corporate security requirements in two fundamental ways.

Firstly, mobile access to corporate networks becomes a necessity in everyday business life. Corporate information is needed more and more outside the traditional office. The workforce needs fast and open access to corporate networks and services from everywhere. Yet, all freedom and openness provided by customized solutions and latest technology should be implemented in a secure way.

Secondly, the information moves when you move. Creating, storing, carrying and transmitting confidential data has never been easier. It is an exciting change in the way we do business, but it also makes protecting corporate data more demanding than ever.

The convenient size of the modern handheld and mobile devices makes them easy to carry around. Unfortunately, it also makes them easy to lose and a common target for thieves. According to Safeware insurance agency, 591,000 laptop computers were stolen during 2001 in United States alone. Altogether, more than ten mobile devices are lost or stolen in the world every minute. The majority of the devices are never returned to their owners.

Today’s workplace is no longer the corporate local area network – it is wherever the employees move and wherever the corporate information is handled. This shift towards mobilility is probably the biggest change we have seen in the history of corporate security. Failing to meet the new security requirements may result in loss of critical information and, perhaps even more significantly, in severe damage to company reputation and brand.

The mobile enterprise is faced with a new security challenge.

Matias Impivaara
Marketing Manager, Handheld Security


Top  |  Back