


What's wrong with that? If I want to use my own iPad or smartphone for work -- and I paid for it  -- my company should be jumping for joy, right?



It happens all the time. Last month, an iPad that belonged to a hospital worker was taken from the worker's car. It contained names, addresses and test results of patients. The hospital issued letters warning patients and had to explain why employees were running around with patient data on unsecured devices.


This is a universal problem because employees are starting to use their own devices for work in record numbers.  Forrester Research estimates that 21 million office workers are using their own smartphone for work. Some 11 million are buying their own work laptops and 3 million bought tablets for work.

The IT department can't always see those devices and what data is stored on it. They don't know what files will wind up on Dropbox or other cloud services.

Should companies simply forbid people to use their own devices?


What's to be done?


IT also needs to buy mobile device management software which tracks devices, encrypts them, locks them and can sometimes wipe data from them remotely if they are lost or stolen.  This software is available from big vendors like IBM or Sybase and smaller ones like Zenprise, AirWatch (and lots of others).



Yes, especially over time. Enterprises can opt to deliver all of their software over a cloud connection so nothing gets stored on the device. It's a concept called desktop virtualization or virtual desktop infrastructure. VDI has traditionally been slow, clunky and expensive to use, especially for Windows. But new technologies are arriving that will make them better (like Cloud Paging).



Within the next five years a new crop of devices will arise that help, too. Forrester analyst Frank Gillett calls these "frames." They will be smart devices that can take voice and gestures commands and will act as a bridge between our personal devices and our personal clouds.