CAI Managed IT Blog
The modern smartphone market is one of ingenuity, communication, and productivity, all of which are extraordinarily important in today’s business world. To help you stay apprised of the various developments in the smartphone market, we’ve put together a blog detailing the various flagship smartphone devices for early 2022.
With remote work still widely in place, the idea of lost or stolen devices has many companies terrified. Due to this security issue, you must consider what you might do should someone lose track of one of your company’s devices. Here are four ways that you can take preventative measures to ensure that lost or stolen devices don’t become a major security risk for your business.
Mobile technology has permeated the workplace in countless ways. Many businesses will provide company-owned devices, be they laptops or smartphones, to employees so they can get work done while out of the office. This brings several opportunities for productivity into focus, but it also highlights some of the many risks associated with mobile devices.
Generally speaking, we all get way too much screen time nowadays, between the workstations we all spend our days in front of to the televisions we watch in the evening to the mobile devices that are never far out of reach. While plenty of people have weighed in on the subject, some of the most interesting insights come from scholarly research: the more notifications a person gets, the more their productivity suffers.
Mobility has to be one of the most talked about technology trends in business, and for good reason. Consumers use mobile. They use it for shopping, banking, checking the weather, for driving directions; and today, they use it for productivity. Let’s take a look at the rise in mobility and how small businesses can use it to their benefit.
There is no question that smartphones have assimilated into our daily communications, both on a personal level and in the professional sense. Apps allow us to be social, to accomplish work-related tasks, and yes, kill some time with the latest silly trending game. Of course, as time passes, these devices only grow more advanced. If you’re due for a replacement, you may want to examine some of your options before pulling the trigger.
We go into great depth on how to protect your desktop and laptop computers from malware and other malicious threats. In fact, one of the first steps you take anytime you are setting up a new computer is to install antivirus and other security programs. You do this because an unprotected device presents substantial risk. With the way people are using their smartphones today, it’s a solid practice to outfit your mobile device with the security software needed to maintain the security of your data.
With more workers opting for mobile solutions than ever before, communications can be tricky to manage for a business. However, is your business’ infrastructure capable of adapting to these new developments in communication technology? You can bet that regardless of where the business takes you, certain applications and devices will always be useful throughout the workday.
We all download apps. There are literally millions of apps to choose from and sometimes nefarious developers can get their application published with ulterior motives. A situation has just happened as Google has removed twenty-two apps that were found to contain automated click-fraud scripts from the Google Play Store. We’ll take a short look at what these developers were up to, and how the fraudster would affect you if you were one of the two million users that happened to download these apps.
With the new innovations made to smartphones every year, you’d be hard-pressed to understand how the global smartphone has hit the skid. While Apple and Samsung sit pretty with large market shares, manufacturers that we’ve come to expect near the top of the smartphone market: Blackberry, HTC, and Nokia are but bit players. Their largest competition is now coming from Chinese companies Xiaomi, Huawei, and OnePlus.
When it comes to selecting a smartphone, most consumers look to the camera as a major deciding point - after all, many popular applications geared toward the everyday user heavily lean on the use of a camera. This utility and, in some ways, reliance have only encouraged rapid advancement to phone-based camera technology since its origins in the Samsung SCH-V200.
The Internet of Things is a bit of a paradox in and of itself. It has been leveraged to accomplish great things, but at the same time, it can be used in a way that can create considerable problems. However, innovations have proven that the IoT isn’t going anywhere, anytime soon, especially now that it can use the devices that we carry in our pockets.
As technology has improved in function and convenience, we seem to demand more and more of it at an increasing pace. Take mobile data as an example: 4G was introduced in 2009, and less than a decade later, there is high demand for 5G. Unfortunately, while 5G has been worked on for some time already, it isn’t likely that it will be commonly available anytime soon.
The Internet of Things has become one of the central parts of connectivity in a tech-centric world. Despite the incredible convenience that these devices offer to users, they come with considerable security risks that absolutely need to be kept in mind. We’re going to discuss some of the ways you can keep the IoT from being a security hazard while optimizing how much you get out of it.
The use of mobile and personal devices for work purposes can be beneficial to your business operations. When handled, and supported properly, they have been shown to improve communication methods and increase productivity. However, the popularity of mobile computing, as well as the Internet of Things’ rapid expansion, means it’s more important than ever to make sure that you don’t allow dangerous devices to access your network. To keep your network safe, there are a few Mobile Device Management best practices that you should begin enforcing.
Did you know that a whopping two-thirds of U.S. adults own a smartphone? This figure is still climbing and the presence of employee-owned smartphones has dramatically changed the face of office. Businesses that aren’t prepared for this major influx of devices are setting themselves up for some major problems.
Employees bringing their devices to work is an IT trend known as BYOD (Bring Your Own Device). In order to make mobile devices in the workplace work for you, you’re going to need to implement a comprehensive BYOD strategy. If you don’t, then your IT network will be a virtual Wild Wild West of sorts as different devices across the entire technology spectrum access your company’s sensitive data. If some of these devices contain malware or data is downloaded to an employee’s device, and the device becomes lost or stolen, you’d be toast. Crises like these can easily be prevented by having a solid BYOD strategy.
To be sure, the benefits of having mobile devices in the workplace make BYOD worth the effort; employees that use their own devices are more innovative, more productive, and are generally happier about their job. To take advantage of these benefits, you’re going to want to cover all of these bases with your company’s BYOD strategy.
- Identify potential risks: Unsecured devices can easily contain viruses and malware, which can damage your system. Plus, an employee-owned device without privacy protections can pose the problem of hackers stealing the data on the device, which would essentially be stealing your data. By taking into account and protecting your network from every possible risk, you’ll be able to use mobile devices with confidence.
- Define a clear BYOD policy: As is the case with any policy, the clearer you are, the better. A solid BYOD policy encompasses your entire IT infrastructure, along with every possible access point. Additionally, if you’re able to clarify your IT goals and what you’re looking to achieve with mobile devices, then you can draft a BYOD policy that can maximize these goals.
- Consider regulations and compliance issues: If confidential information, like medical records, aren’t stored properly and get leaked by way of mobile devices, it can carry a hefty fine from laws like PCI and HIPAA. Concerning data of this sensitive nature, your BYOD policy needs to follow these laws down to the letter.
- Keep track of used devices: Every device that accesses your network needs to be accounted for. For example, you can’t have random devices logging on, accessing files, and then disappearing with that information. If an employee loses a device with company information on it, or even sells it to a third party, then you would have no idea who would get to see your data.
- Train your staff: When it comes to BYOD, educating your staff is key. If they’re on board with your BYOD policy and fully understand the ramifications of breaking it, then you will be able to rest assured that all of the devices popping up around the office are helping your organization, not hindering it.
As you can imagine, BYOD policies are not a one-size-fits-all policy for every business. Each business has different needs, IT goals, and security risks. Therefore, in order to get the most comprehensive BYOD strategy for your company, you’re going to want to consult with the IT professionals at CAI Managed IT. We know what questions to ask and what to look for in your IT network so that your organization can take full advantage of this trend.
The Internet of Things is practically omnipresent in today’s environment, and many commercial products not only connect to the Internet, but they also come with an app. Due to this type of integration growing more popular, the world is starting to see Internet-connected products that really don’t have much to gain from their connectivity.