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iPad Taking Hold in Corporate Settings
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What are these security improvements that have made the iPad a viable solution in the enterprise? From everything I've read, the iPhone and iPad are still woefully inadequate when it comes to security.
So you'd rather they just plunk you down in a chair for 15-30 minutes while they go in a back room and pretend to work the numbers on your financing options? Such an annoying process...
Whilst this is good for Apple and numbers sold.
It's not really what I want to see for the consumer market.
Be honest, PC's were drab green screened things for years, which went beep as they were for business.
Was only when the games sector got hold of them they started being pushed and advanced into areas that business would never have done on it's own.
I do hope the iPad does not (long term) evolve into mostly a corporate tool.
How dam boring would that be.
It's not really what I want to see for the consumer market.
Be honest, PC's were drab green screened things for years, which went beep as they were for business.
Was only when the games sector got hold of them they started being pushed and advanced into areas that business would never have done on it's own.
I do hope the iPad does not (long term) evolve into mostly a corporate tool.
How dam boring would that be.
I've been actually doing a ton of research with iPads in our enterprise. (org will remain nameless.)
"Analysts note that companies have been reluctant to adopt tablet-based computers until now due to their typically underpowered nature and inability to multitask."
I do not agree with this statement. What makes myself reluctant to flip the switch and allow employees to gain access to iPads is control. There are 3 ways to provision them
- Send a policy via email
- Send a policy via website
- Or the hidden method rarely mentioned. the OTA methods. which requires a lot of work to setup.
Now even if you do provision the devices, there is nothing to stop a user from entering DFU and restoring the software to circumvent the restrictions you put in place. The only protection the enterprise really has is to create an exchange activesync password and dont give out the vpn credential information, which is not enough.
Now there are 3 things i feel apple needs to do inorder to make them a bit more enterprise friendly.
- DFU protection, to prevent restores of unauthorized firmware.
- Enterprise application store. where the organization can purchase a volume amount of applications and easily view licensing information associated with each application. (ie: licenses used / available) and allow the devices to install the applications that we authorize, and have paid a licensing fee for. I want users to be able to install apps like Citrix, but absolutely do not want to give them access to the app store. We also do not want employees using their credit card information to purchase applications for a device that they do not even own; so a enterprise store is a must in my mind.
- Better encryption. The current encryption is a joke and laughed at by the hacker community.
There really is no good central management of these devices yet, which makes me very reluctant to authorize the devices on our network.
As much as I like the jailbreaking community, they really have put a large dent in the devices for being adopted into the enterprise, which does and will affect apple.
"Analysts note that companies have been reluctant to adopt tablet-based computers until now due to their typically underpowered nature and inability to multitask."
I do not agree with this statement. What makes myself reluctant to flip the switch and allow employees to gain access to iPads is control. There are 3 ways to provision them
- Send a policy via email
- Send a policy via website
- Or the hidden method rarely mentioned. the OTA methods. which requires a lot of work to setup.
Now even if you do provision the devices, there is nothing to stop a user from entering DFU and restoring the software to circumvent the restrictions you put in place. The only protection the enterprise really has is to create an exchange activesync password and dont give out the vpn credential information, which is not enough.
Now there are 3 things i feel apple needs to do inorder to make them a bit more enterprise friendly.
- DFU protection, to prevent restores of unauthorized firmware.
- Enterprise application store. where the organization can purchase a volume amount of applications and easily view licensing information associated with each application. (ie: licenses used / available) and allow the devices to install the applications that we authorize, and have paid a licensing fee for. I want users to be able to install apps like Citrix, but absolutely do not want to give them access to the app store. We also do not want employees using their credit card information to purchase applications for a device that they do not even own; so a enterprise store is a must in my mind.
- Better encryption. The current encryption is a joke and laughed at by the hacker community.
There really is no good central management of these devices yet, which makes me very reluctant to authorize the devices on our network.
As much as I like the jailbreaking community, they really have put a large dent in the devices for being adopted into the enterprise, which does and will affect apple.
Not just for business, iPad will be everywhere. I was at family gathering for July 4th, and everyone had a device that was running iOS, either a iPhone, Ipod Touch, or iPad. Most of the working age relatives had iPhones, with one with an iPad. The kids ( 6 years and older ) had iPod touches that they used to play games. Most of them have Nintendo DS's, they are collecting dust. They were used for everything from checking email, to playing games. Microsoft and RIMM (Blackberry) are in trouble. Apple has created a universal platform, that will useful and natural for both business, education, or anything. With Apple's custom processors and battery life technology, no one with catch them.
Another big thing about iPad, iphone and touch, is NO viruses, NO malware, just think about the cost saving in admin staff and virus/security software. Actually, I don't check any of my bank accounts from my PC, I strictly use my iPhone or iPad.
At work, I rather use my iPad to check email instead of my windows PC. The only time I use my PC is when I need to access windows applications that our business uses. Overtime, windows only applications will disappear. Another thing businesses like is that the same applications can run on the iPhone, iPad, or touch. This is the future. The only competition will be from Google/Android.
Another big thing about iPad, iphone and touch, is NO viruses, NO malware, just think about the cost saving in admin staff and virus/security software. Actually, I don't check any of my bank accounts from my PC, I strictly use my iPhone or iPad.
At work, I rather use my iPad to check email instead of my windows PC. The only time I use my PC is when I need to access windows applications that our business uses. Overtime, windows only applications will disappear. Another thing businesses like is that the same applications can run on the iPhone, iPad, or touch. This is the future. The only competition will be from Google/Android.
Haha one time I was working with this new sales kid (purchasing truck) and he got up to say that he's going to talk to his sales manager. Well I didnt tell him that I know the sales manager personally and that he as actually out having coffee with friends of mine
He did the fake walk around the building and came back to tell me that the price was the best he can do.hahaha I walked away with a "no thanks".
yes I could do have just gone straight to the sales manager but I figured Id give this kid a break.
Im kind of glad cause a new vehicle at that time was not a smart move
Excellent post, and you laid out many of the reasons why my place of business will not authorize iPhones or iPads for official use, or even allow them to store sensitive data such as corporate email.
More to come
I work in a hotel and they bought one to use for sales presentations the first week it came out. They still haven't fully implemented it yet because the sales staff isn't great particularly tech savvy but I can see it as a great tool for them to use. It has other possible uses within the hotel but unfortunately, while they try to portray themselves as being tech titans, hotels are quite behind the times when it comes to technology. So if my hotel actually starts using it, anything is possible.
I work in a hotel and they bought one to use for sales presentations the first week it came out. They still haven't fully implemented it yet because the sales staff isn't great particularly tech savvy but I can see it as a great tool for them to use. It has other possible uses within the hotel but unfortunately, while they try to portray themselves as being tech titans, hotels are quite behind the times when it comes to technology. So if my hotel actually starts using it, anything is possible.
This is correct. I work in a high profile, very large, and very secure government organization and can say that thousands of iPads are being procured this month. I have my doubts as to their true use until iOS4 is available because of the use of Juniper VPN in so many of these organizations (iOS4 added this functionality).
Oh, and because AT&T coverage is spotty in a lot of the older buildings around the DC Metro Region, AT&T repeaters are being bought and installed onto the rooftops of many of the buildings to allow the use of iOS devices.
I'm a little confused by this as I have not seen any possible issue with an iPad that I wouldn't find with any laptop. Depending on just how secure you want your environment to be, the focus should probably be on remote access as a whole.
Also, purchasing apps for the iPad if tied to their own iTunes account does not mean they are tied to the device, just the account. Again, you will see the same sort of thing with a laptop but can obviously control what can be installed. It's the "purchase" part that I find to be unimportant.
I work in IT at a college, and we are forbidden to have any college data on our phones, laptops, etc. unless that device can be encrypted with a college-approved security solution. For all of our PCs, that solution is TrueCrypt. For mobile devices, we only approve Blackberries, and have a solution whose name escapes me at the moment. I'm really hoping that either Apple or some third-party creates some kind of encryption/security solution for the iPhone to bring them up to RIM's level of security.
I have only taken mine out in public twice. The reason being that I don't want to contend with possible thieves, people who will be interested in talking to me just because of an iPad, or people who will be judgemental about my choice in computing device. The latter is only an issue because I don't feel like arguing with idiots.
That is just great.
Are they buying them with stimulus money so they can say the iPad saved your job or are we just increasing the debt to buy thousands of iPads.
I can see where that's an issue, especially when you need to go through an approval process.
I work in national security IT and have multiple levels of sensitive data, much of which can be stored on just about any smartphone that is centrally managed.
That is just great.
Stimulus money doesn't go to government organizations, FYI. I really love it when people expect the government to run on steam engines and rubber bands...there are IT budgets there as well, and an iPad is a very cheap and more reliable solution for certain positions, especially military. Battery life is a really important factor, let alone weight, when we're talking about users "in the field".
Otherwise, I can understand your concern for government spending but as a fellow citizen, I think you're not putting enough thought into this before you react. We're not talking about a pencil pusher at a desk playing with an iPad here, we're talking about a guy that will now drop 5 to 10 lbs off the weight of an item he has to carry with him. Also, an iPad data plan is going to be MUCH cheaper than the aircards most of these types of people use.
But yeah, typical knee jerk reaction, you consider anything being spent a waste.
Interesting. Do you all have any problem with employees keeping data on something like the iPhone, or storing company email on them? Or do you make them go through a VPN to get to that info?
Personally, I have no problem with anyone here keeping their work email or files on an iPhone. If it were up to me, I'd enforce & install a policy on their phones that would require them to use their Active Directory passwords as their iPhone password, since we require their AD passwords to be strong as hell. If they refused to comply, I'd just block their access to IMAP and ActiveSync.
Ha... You know it's only a matter of time before the car salesman puts some pictures of his kids in tattered clothes holding an empty can of beans on it
It's the whole people purchasing their own software to be placed on government equipment political game.
On an iPhone, it will require VPN for the time being but I don't see email much less secure there than with a Blackberry. My organization is so large that my focus is very specific so I can't really even tell you the plans for the future in that area.
That's exactly how I'd do it, I completely agree.
Got ya. But you know that if these people have iPhones, they've already got a ton of apps they could install.
I've read over the policy pushing stuff quickly in Apple's deployment guide. Can't you control what apps can and can't be installed?
That is just great.
Oh wow, an expert in government procurement spoke out.. Thanks for sharing your highly intelligent opinion and knowledge of government/DoD programs and the tech and equipment that they use in their jobs. You seem to really know what they need and don't need and what they use it for.