In a BYOx Environment, IT’s Focus Shifts From Devices to Data

Data protection, though never simple, used to be a lot easier for IT pros when that data was locked behind a firewall or backed up on tape. But the exponential growth in the amount of data that businesses generate in cloud, virtual, mobile and other environments has made the task harder for IT. According to research from IDC and Acronis, larger data volumes and increased complexity are the two biggest data protection challenges facing SMB IT departments.

That pressure is building given the so-called “BYOx” trend, referring to employees who bring anything and everything to work such as devices and applications not sanctioned by IT. As a result, IT must protect and secure company data on employees’ devices — without disrupting their privacy or personal data.

“Smartphones have made it all too easy for employees to bring personal computing devices into the workplace, accessing corporate networks and internal data, heightening IT concerns over BYOx policies and data management,” writes Kristen Nicole, senior editor at SiliconANGLE. 

Nicole spoke with several data protection and security experts about how IT can manage and protect data in a BYOx environment.

Adam Ely, chief operating officer and co-founder of mobile security provider Bluebox Security, says companies that focus on the device miss the mark. “BYOx is shifting the focus away from mobile device management and toward corporate data management,” Ely says. “BYOx is completely changing the way companies look at security by focusing on the data rather than the device.”

Blake Brannon, a senior solutions engineer at VMware, says that data loss prevention is critical in a BYOx scenario. He recommends that IT departments use a technology solution that limits employee activities with corporate data, such as disabling copy/paste or preventing screenshot capture. Technology tools should also be able to erase company data from a personal device that’s lost, stolen or owned by an employee who leaves the company, Brannon says.

h/t: SiliconANGLE

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