Santa Clara, California – Securing the files on mobile devices and controlling access from devices to enterprise resources and data remain the most important issues for enterprise IT departments trying to manage mobile devices. IT managers, constrained by fixed headcounts, are leveraging established solutions such as Microsoft Exchange and Active Directory as well as mobile device management (MDM) solutions to address the challenge of securing mobile devices according to a September 2014 survey conducted by the Enterprise Device Alliance (EDA).

Along with core control and management, IT departments report more progress establishing and enforcing policies for mobile file management, configuration control, and secure cloud-based solutions. IT management seems to be increasing its control of mobile device issues. Compared to related surveys conducted for the last four years, the respondents report more progress in addressing the security implications of the adoption of mobile devices. For instance, 73% are using or planning to use Microsoft Active Directory for authenticating mobile devices; 52% are implementing MDM solutions up from 16% in 2011; and 39% are using a mobile file management solution (MFM), mobile content management (MCM), or enterprise file sync and share (EFSS) compared to 14% in 2012.

“By the end of 2014, Enterprise IT seems to have caught up to the tsunami of mobile device adoption in their organizations. It has taken nearly 5 years, but they appear to have selected and substantially deployed solutions overcoming the numerous policy, staffing and budget challenges that delayed their plans,” said T. Reid Lewis, president of the Enterprise Device Alliance. “However, our survey reveals that many IT organizations are still waiting for the tools and expertise to be able to thoroughly complete their plans for securing these devices for enterprises roles.”

Security is still The foreground issue for enterprise mobility. Establishing security had several implications for the respondents in IT. First, only 30% agreed with the statement: “We are unconcerned [about adding mobile devices]. Our management of mobile devices allows us to be comfortable.” More than 40% of the organizations report that they are constraining the use of mobile devices because of the difficulty of making them compliant with government and industry regulations. Consumer cloud solutions for mobile devices are losing their acceptability to enterprise IT, so organizations are implementing secure enterprise-managed alternative solutions.

While 95% of the organizations report that they allow BYOD, the emerging policy of Corporate Owned Personally Enabled (COPE) devices is beginning to take hold with 20% of the respondents’ organizations implementing a version of that policy.

The administrators were asked: “How has the addition of Mobile Devices impacted the IT Department?” There is a link below to a table that shows their responses.

Comparing responses from 2012 and 2014 reveals that many IT departments have been managing mobile devices for years and many are just getting started. Though they do not expect any increase in IT personnel, the respondents also see the requirements for new investment in management and support of their end users declining meaningfully in all categories except end user apps. Compared to 2012, fewer respondents report that in 2014 they expect increases in demand for new hardware, software, security and compliance issues, help desk support and related technology and service demands than they have had. In some categories, the decline is especially significant – by more than 15%. This suggests that many have completed the necessary investments and expect to continue to use those solutions to empower their control. Note that in 2014, 15% said they will have fewer IT staff members next year, who will presumably be helped by the increased number of management tools.

While It is getting more control over management and security, IT professionals continue to see vulnerabilities in significant areas. A particularly telling response: 20% report that users are using unsecure, consumer file storage and sharing solutions with the explanation, “It’s not really acceptable, but we don’t have an alternative.”

Other noteworthy findings of the survey include:
* More than 55% report they now provide a standard configuration of software for their mobile devices; (See below to learn how to get the details of those configurations and all data reported)
* Administrators prefer using an MDM solution that is part of an Enterprise suite by a margin of 48% to 28%
* Many provide access to corporate documents in SharePoint (42%) or file servers (40%)
* More than 70% are using (or expect to use) Microsoft Active Directory for authentication and access control, a level that has remained constant for three years
* More than a third (36%) require their users to maintain 5 or more business passwords

Detailed Webcast: “Managing Mobile Devices – IT Speaks About the Issues”
Watch the EDA’s recorded on-demand webcast exploring the results of this survey. EDA President T. Reid Lewis discusses the full results of the survey with Ryan Faas, a journalist for Computerworld, Citeworld and its sister publications, and an industry professional. A complete report (PDF) of the findings and an on-demand webinar analyzing the survey results are available at the Enterprise Device Alliance website.

About the survey
This fourth annual survey sought to learn how IT administrators are coping with the impact of smartphones and tablets on large organizations. The online survey was conducted from September 4 to October 8, 2014. Respondents are in commercial, government and educational organizations with more than 100 employees. More than 60% of the respondents were from organizations with more than 500 employees.

Members of the Enterprise Device Alliance:

Absolute Software:
Absolute Manage by Absolute Software provides support for mobile applications, controlled network access, and a secure content container for document distribution. Authentic cross-platform capabilities allow customers to install Absolute Manage within a Windows or Mac environment, and manage enterprise- and employee-owned devices from a PC or a Mac-based console. As well, IT administrators can perform their work on the go from ultra-portable devices for increased efficiencies and savings. Absolute Manage provides full support for the new streamlined Apple Device Enrollment Program (ADEP), providing zero-touch configuration for iOS deployments and streamlining the device setup process. Customers can rely on mandatory device enrollment to ensure only managed devices are accessing corporate networks and content.

Acronis:
Acronis Access enables enterprise employees using any device – desktop, laptop, tablet or smartphone – to securely access, sync and share and edit corporate content – while IT maintains control over security and compliance. Content can be accessed from file servers, NAS, SharePoint, and personal devices, and shared with internal and external constituents as permitted by group policies. Acronis Access empowers IT to control the level of security needed and promote end user productivity anywhere, anytime, from any device.

Centrify:
Centrify provides unified identity management across cloud, mobile and data center environments that delivers single sign-on (SSO) for users and a simplified identity infrastructure for IT. Centrify’s unified identity management software and cloud-based Identity-as-a-Service (IDaaS) solutions leverage an organization’s existing identity infrastructure to enable single sign-on, multi-factor authentication, privileged identity management, auditing for compliance and enterprise mobility management. Centrify customers can typically reduce their total cost of identity management and compliance by more than 50 percent, while improving business agility and overall security. Centrify is used by more than 5,000 customers worldwide, including nearly half of the Fortune 50 and more than 60 Federal agencies.

Survey Presentation and On-Demand Webcast
Absolute Manage
Acronis Access
Centrify Mobile Security Management
Table of responses: "How has mobile management affected your organization?"

The Enterprise Device Alliance (EDA) provides information to IT managers and administrators about the ways they can leverage their Windows infrastructure, management tools and expertise to easily integrate Macs, iPhones, iPads and Android devices into their organizations. For more information, visit the EDA online. Copyright (C) 2014 The Enterprise Device Alliance. All Rights Reserved. Apple, the Apple logo, iPhone, iPod, iPad and Macintosh are registered trademarks of Apple Inc. in the U.S. and/or other countries.