One abbreviation for this trend is BYOD - Bring Your Own Device. It's definitely driving uptake in the enterprise - from the boardroom down. Not only do IT departments have to "get over it" but they have to learn to manage corporate data on non-owned devices (you can't remote wipe a device with a person's home photos on it!). Tools that enable this mixed up ownership scenario are key.
Erik
It had been quite some time since I last had the opportunity to speak with a representative of Layer 7 Technologies and then Layer 7 co-founder, Dimitri Sirota, reached out to bring me up to date on what the company has been doing since 2009 and offer a view of what they’re doing now.
For those who aren’t aware of Layer 7, they have become masters of service oriented architectures, XML messaging and have developed technology making it possible for organizations to develop their own Web APIs to offer secure access to business critical applications and data through applications running on their smartphones and tablets.
Dimitri and I had a very interesting discussion of how handheld, intelligent mobile devices are quietly entering companies of all sizes. We both agreed that this is very similar how PCs and Laptop computers crept into the IT infrastructure — in same cases over the dead bodies of those who positioned themselves as the organization’s “computer priesthood.”
Staff members, in general, just want tools that help them be productive and will adopt whatever tools appear to be of some assistance. Some IT staff believe that it is their job to prevent anything new and untested to enter the hallowed grounds of the organization. When this sort of contest emerges, the end users typically win and the IT staff loses credibility.
Layer7 is offering something that the company believes will server the needs of both groups. The company’s Web API technology makes it possible for IT to carefully and securely offer access to organizational applications and data. Business unit staff would then be enabled to develop mobile apps that access those APIs.
Thanks Dimitri for a very interesting conversation.
