WHITE PAPER

Leadership and technology: Mobility and bring-your-owndevice insights for midmarket enterprises
Sponsored by Cisco Systems, Inc -- July 2013

Executive Summary
Midmarket enterprises strive for success in a highly competitive landscape. Being a successful leader means
encouraging employees to collaborate and work more efficiently to increase the success of the enterprise. Technology
solutions can empower employees for success at work, home, and when mobile, but technology must also be able to
support changes that occur in a business without increasing the risks associated with providing excellent customer
service, fostering innovation, and engaging with an enterprises stakeholders.
This white paper looks at the power of mobility as part of the midmarket enterprises unified communications
(UC) platform and the seemingly competing interests of IT departments and other functional areas that often
place stress on an organization. Enterprise mobilitymuch of which is promoted by employees bringing their
consumer, personal, mobile devices into the work environmentcontinues to grow worldwide. These trends
associated with the bring-your-own-device (BYOD) concept are putting pressure on IT departments to support
all personal mobile devices in all types of work spaces.
To meet their BYOD needs, midmarket enterprises will need to consider implementing unified communications
infrastructure that enables full mobility suites including centralized network and device management
capabilities. These solutions address both IT and business considerations that arise when enterprises contemplate
implementing a BYOD policy. By meeting IT and business needs, these types of unified communications
platforms better prepare enterprises to realize the full benefits that mobility can produce.
Analysys Mason forecasts that revenue from mobilityincluding voice, data, and management servicesfor
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midmarket enterprises will grow from US$74.8 billion in 2013 to US$79.0 billion in 2018 (refer to Figure 1).
Figure 1 Revenue from Mobility Services, Worldwide [Source: Analysys Mason, 2013]
90
80

Revenue (USD billions)

70
60
50
Emerging regions

40

Developed regions

30
20
10
0
2013

2014

2015

2016

2017

2018

In these revenue figures, Analysys Mason includes all mobile voice and data services from the use of smartphones,
feature phones, mobile broadband dongles, and mobile device management services for businesses with 100 to 999
employees worldwide. Although the totality of this revenue is not fully attributable to unified communications solutions,
the relative size and growth are indicative of the tremendous importance of mobile solutions across the world.

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Recommendations for Midmarket Enterprises

When contemplating the purchase of a unified communications platform to support a BYOD strategy,
midmarket enterprises must consider a range of factors, such as policy management, existing and future business
needs, as well as partner implementation expertise. There are 5 key focus areas to consider:

Match mobility solutions to various employee work spaces and functional areas to increase their
productivity: In order to maximize the investment return from mobility solutions, it is important to
understand employees work-space patterns. A more thorough understanding of these work spacesfor
example, in the office, at home, and when mobileand employees usage patterns will allow midmarket
enterprises to select and deploy the proper mobility tools and the correct management tools for their IT
departments. In addition, it is important to consider employees functional areas when choosing mobility
solutions, because requirements can differ by functional area even if the work-space requirements are the
same. For example, the requirements of mobile sales people could be different from those of finance
department employees.

Select a vendor who understands work-space needs of its employees: The best vendors of unified
communications platforms provide a broad selection of mobility and mobility management solutions. Many
enterprises mix various types of mobility solutions to best serve the needs of their employees, partners, and
customers. Enterprises that make mobility available anytime, anywhere, and on any mobile device will find much
higher adoption of this business technology than less-flexible enterprises. This flexibility will pay off with
increased collaboration between employees and more personal interaction between employees and customers.

Look for an industry-leading unified communications solution that addresses the holistic needs of mobility
management: IT departments need tools to manage more than just endpoint mobile devices. For example, many
enterprises underestimate the impact that mobility can have on their networks. Proper policy management, mobile
security management, integration of mobile and fixed access, and management of collaboration-related software
clients on mobile devices are all critically important aspects of mobility management. Although mobile device
management is an important aspect of a solution, enterprises must choose solutions that consider a more
comprehensive mobile management capability or risk network degradation, increased IT services costs, and
employee dissatisfaction.

The best unified communications platform vendors have self-onboarding capabilities associated with their
mobility solutions: BYOD trends and device proliferation are placing large demands on IT departments.
According to a recent survey by Analysys Mason, approximately 49 percent of midmarket enterprise
employee respondents use their personal devices for work. Expecting IT staff to onboard every new mobile
devicesmartphone, tablet, and laptopsupplied by employees is unrealistic, given constraints in IT
staffing budgets. However, self-onboarding tools allow employees simply to provision their own devices for
the work environment while maintaining all proper IT and security policies.

Pick a vendor that has excellent professional services skills and experience in mobility-related unified
communications solutions: Professional services and project management skills matter. Vendor that have the
required skill sets and certifications in collaboration technologies will minimize implementation risks and
provide better overall support for an enterprises mobility management needs.

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BYOD Trends and Framework for a Midmarket IT Department

BYOD refers to the use of personal mobile devices by employees for work-related purposes. These devices can
include feature phones, smartphones, tablets, laptops, netbooks, and other personal mobile devices connected or
connectable over wireless or mobile networks. The devices may or may not have access to corporate applications
or data, but do have access to personal applications and data.
Increasing numbers of employees want to use their own mobile devices in the workplace. According to Analysys
Masons Connected Consumer Surveya multiyear, multinational study that tracks and measures consumers
changing telecom and media habits, device ownership, connectivity options, and future plansapproximately 49
percent of midmarket enterprise employee respondents use their personal devices for work. This surprisingly
large percentage of respondents highlights the trends we have seen in the BYOD trend over the past several
years. When given the option, employees would prefer to use their personal mobile devices rather than having to
carry separate personal and work-issued devices.
Midmarket IT departments need to address four areas as they develop a BYOD strategy in response to the
challenges presented by employees using their own devices (refer to Figure 2). The largest enterprises will
invariably have to address all four technology topics now, whereas smaller enterprises might be able to address
them over the next few years. However, all enterpriseslarge and smallwill eventually have to consider and
adopt some of the elements of this framework because of the near ubiquity of mobile technology and its
continued influence in our personal and business lives.
Figure 2 Elements of a BYOD Technology Framework [Source: Analysys Mason, 2013]
Implementation

Application enablement

Management

Security

Device policy

Custom application
development

Centralized policy

Network security

Network enablement
and policy

Mobile application

Device, OS, application

management

Device and application

authentication

Device logistics

Integration

Telecom expense
management

Data back-up and loss

prevention

Device self onboarding

Data synchronization

customization and
configuration

Office space design

management network,
security, connectivity

Remote lock and wipe

Secure connectivity
Malware protection
Partitioning

Implementation refers to the execution of a BYOD strategy in the enterprise. There are various aspects of
implementation, including the creation of effective, simple-to-understand BYOD policies to establish
appropriate device usage; an enterprise network capable of supporting the additional demands of mobility
solutions; connectivity enablement and related policies; device logistics to adequately ship and track new or
replacement devices; and the ability to self-onboard and provision appropriate business credentials on a mobile
device to begin service. Midmarket enterprises should also encourage liaison between IT and other functional
areas to help explain the BYOD policies and implementation. Finally, in order to take advantage of additional
employee collaboration after implementation of a BYOD policy, midmarket enterprises should rethink the

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design of their office spaces. It is important to create new work spaces so employees are encouraged to
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collaborate in new ways with each other.
Applications enablement refers to the creation and mobilization of business tools and applications on personal
devices. It includes the development of custom applications as needed; customization or configuration of
existing applications for the mobile environment; integration of various business and personal applications; data
synchronization across applications; and allocation of business applications to appropriate employees. An
effective BYOD strategy takes advantage of mobile applications, but needs tools and a variety of IT services to
enable these applications effectively on myriad mobile devices.
Management refers to the activities and solutions to provide ongoing supervision and administration of the
midmarket enterprise network and the mobile devices employees use. IT departments require centralized policy
management tools to provide administration of the network, connectivity, and security policies associated with a
BYOD program. Centralized dashboards and management consoles allow IT departments to manage all aspects
of a BYOD strategy more effectively. IT departments also need tools to deal with the tremendous proliferation of
mobile devices, and must grapple with hardware, operating systems, and applications. These device management
tools allow the IT department to keep current with patches, firmware, and software releases. Finally, IT
departments require expense management tools to aid cost minimization for various telecom voice and data
services.
Security refers to the protection of network connectivity and applications, as well as the mobile devices
employees use, from unauthorized access. A midmarket enterprise IT department must revisit its overall security
position when it adopts a proactive BYOD policy. Security includes overall network security; device and
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application authentication with single password sign-on; data backup and loss prevention; remote locking and
data deletion from lost devices; secure connectivity; malware protection; and partitioning of devices for business
and personal use.

Collaboration and Mobile Work Spaces: A New Paradigm

The adoption of a BYOD program affords benefits to a midmarket enterprise. When midmarket enterprises
implement BYOD policies, they see increased collaboration between employees, partners, and customers. These
benefits come from added opportunities for innovation and collaboration, productivity savings, and increases in
customer and employee satisfaction. As such, it is critical to rethink the value of collaboration in common work
spaces for BYOD-equipped employees. Consider three mobile work spaces:

Office: Employees use personal devices in the office to enhance work productivity, provide better customer
support, and fuel innovation. Employees use these personal devices at their desks, in conference rooms, on
factory floors, and in collaborative settings with other employees.

Home: Employees often work at home or complete specific work-related tasks at home. In addition,
employees often work at home to extend the working day while also meeting their personal commitments.
This work space is, in some ways, fairly similar to the office work space, because the employees

Five ways IT can help employees use new technology, CITEworld, by Ron Miller, April 24, 2013,
http://www.citeworld.com/mobile/21769/five-changes-IT-should-make-right-now.
Ibid.

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environment is more controlled and limited in geographic scope. However, it differs in terms of the network
expectations and quality of connectivity, which have varying quality-of-service (QoS) metrics.

Mobile: Employees use personal devices while traveling between two geographic points. They have less
control over work-space characteristics in these circumstances, and often work with highly variable network
quality. There are also unique security-related concerns in this work space, including heightened risk of
device theft and unauthorized access to data. This work space can include commuting time in a car, train, or
bus; working in an airplane; working while walking down the street; and many other activities.

Midmarket enterprise IT departments and other functional areas within the company have several key
imperatives when considering the adoption of a BYOD and mobile collaboration policy in these three work
spaces (at home, in the office, and when mobile). Figure 3 illustrates some considerations a business should have
for a BYOD deployment in three mobile work spaces.
Figure 3 Top IT and Other Functional Area Considerations for BYOD Deployment in Three Mobile Work
Spaces [Source: Analysys Mason, 2013]
Mobile work spaces
Functional
areas of
midmarket
enterprise

In office

At home

On the go

Top
considerations in
BYOD deployment
Centralized policy

management

Category relative
importance

Security
Lower
Network
enablement
IT

Medium

Device
management

Ongoing support

Higher

needs
Vendor
integrations
Simplicity of
usability
Service provide
selection
Other
functional

Device flexibility

areas
Cost of usage

Anywhere access

IT Considerations of BYOD Deployments

Of paramount interest to IT organizationsand the top IT consideration in all mobile-equipped work spacesis
the adoption of a centralized policy management solution and security posture to support BYOD deployments.
One of the most pressing concerns an IT department when implementing a BYOD program is to manage the
deployment and protect company assets effectively. Centralized policy management encompassing everything
from the network to the device is critically important.

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Other top IT considerations for deployment of a BYOD solution vary by work space. For example, in the office,
IT departments must provide a network capable of handling the changes caused by mobile devices, so network
management is very important. Failure to prepare the network environment for increases in mobility and BYOD
work spaces can greatly impinge on the quality of the network. Employees are likely to use mobile devices in
different places in the office than traditional PCs and laptops; for example, it is becoming more common to have
groups of employees in conference rooms collaborating on tablets, or working outside in the courtyard of a
building. We also believe that employees will start using video collaboration more on mobile devices while in
the office. IT must have the tools to measure, monitor, and optimize the network to handle these changes in
usage characteristics.
Midmarket enterprises often do not have large or technically specialized IT staff; therefore, IT departments must
consider the ongoing support needs associated with a BYOD solution. The lack of IT staff also raises the
challenge of having to support multiple vendors mobility solutions in the workplace. For this reason, some IT
departments strongly favor a single-vendor solution. Either way, these support requirements can greatly hamper
an IT organizations ability to deliver a cost-effective and simple mobility strategy.

Other Functional Area Considerations of BYOD Deployments

The most important business consideration for a BYOD policy is simplicity of use. The increase in BYOD work
spaces is promoted primarily by employees desiring device familiarity and simplicity in all their work spaces. It
is important that the implementation of a BYOD policy does not significantly increase complexity and
discourage employees from using personal mobile devices.
Other top business considerations in the deployment of a BYOD policy vary by work space. Employees often
have preferences for mobile service providers. As such, selection of service providers often plays a large role in
the implementation of mobility and BYOD solutions, especially in home-based or mobile solutions. In the office
and at home, device flexibility is an important consideration. In relatively geographically confined environments
like these, employees want the flexibility to choose between devices to perform their work. Although device
flexibility is also important when employees are mobile, we believe that employees recognize that certain
devices are less effective in certain work spaces. For example, while driving a car, it is inadvisable or illegal to
send text messages and, in some locations, talk, on a mobile phone. Or, while standing on a very crowded train
or other public facility, it is inadvisable to type on a tablet device. However, it is quite important for the
enterprise to control the usage costs of mobile devices and to provide access to applications anywhere the
employee is traveling or using a mobile device.
Mobility embedded into an all-in-one unified communications platform can allow midmarket enterprises to start
capturing the benefits of increased collaboration and work-space flexibility. Midmarket enterprises adopt technology
that is easy-to-use and, although many older mobility solutions have proven themselves complex, costly, and
cumbersome to manage, new solutions from the best vendors remove these problems.
Midmarket enterprises must recognize and be prepared for the future of mobility and the BYOD trenda future
where simplicity, flexibility, and access anywhere for end users, and a centralized policy management and
security for IT departments, are critically important. Even midmarket enterprises not using mobility today will
be using it in 2 to 3 years time and are preparing to support it. It is critical to purchase technology equipment
and unified communications platforms that address these types of IT and business considerations, while
providing overall investment protection for your company.

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Growth of Mobility
Mobility provides new ways for midmarket enterprises to differentiate their businesses; it provides innovative
ways for stakeholdersemployees, partners, and customersto interact; and it allows employees to maintain
contact with customers on a more timely and convenient basis, increasing customer satisfaction. Mobility makes
businesses more productive.
Following are three examplesorganized by mobile work spacewhere mobility allows midmarket enterprises
to increase productivity and employees to stay connected in innovative ways.

Mobile example: A field technician at a midmarket enterprise has driven 60 miles (100 kilometers) to make
repairs on a piece of a customers equipment. He encounters what looks like a problem in some component
of the equipment. He does not want to attempt to fix the problem, because he has not encountered this
change in the past. Instead of requesting another technician to be dispatched to the worksite, he uses his
smartphone and video-based communications to engage a component specialist in the office at his company.
By being able to see the component, the specialist diagnoses the problem and the field technician is able to
make the required repairs to the equipment.

At-home example: A chief financial officer (CFO) of a midmarket enterprise spends the day flying home
from a remote office location. He needs to have a collaboration session with his team late in the evening,
because it is time to close the books for the month and there is a problem with some key accounts. Instead of
having to go to the office to speak with his team and review financial records, he can connect remotely with
his team and his companys finance and accounting application with his tablet from home, using
collaboration software and a secured connection. The CFO and his team work together for an hour,
determine the cause of the problem, and close the monthly books on time.

In-office example: An innovative, online advertising agency has a new customer, a large pharmaceutical
company. Employees in the creative department have an assignment to devise a design for their clients notyet-marketed allergy medication. In order to encourage new thoughts and creative ideas, the employees
decide to have their first brainstorming session outside in the courtyard of their office building. While sitting
on the lawn, they each use their tablets to log into their companys collaboration platform and together
sketch images for an upcoming team meeting. The sketches allow the advertising agency to put together a
novel campaign for their client.

Conclusion
Leadership matters. Technology allows midmarket enterprises to empower their employees and better service
their customers. The technology chosen must support future business needs while empowering IT to manage and
protect the enterprises technology environment; otherwise, the technology represents an additional financial risk
to the firm. Vendors that supply mobility and BYOD solutions integrated within a unified communications
infrastructure are well prepared to meet the needs of midmarket enterprise technology and business challenges.
These types of vendors are best positioned to address the growing needs of midmarket enterprises.
IT departments and other functional areas face numerous considerations when choosing to implement a BYOD
policy. And these considerations affect BYOD decisions for all of an employees work spaces. The key IT
considerationscentralized policy management, security, network enablement, ongoing technical support,
device management, and vendor integrationsnecessitate technology solutions that provide robust yet simple-

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to-use centralized dashboards and management consoles. The key business considerations for other functional
areassimplicity of use, service provider selection, device flexibility, cost of usage, and access from
anywhereneed to be addressed so that employees will fully use mobility tools in new ways, fostering increased
innovation and productivity.
Mobility solutions supporting a BYOD policy help turn an IT department from a cost center into a catalyst for
business change. Mobility solutionsdevices, operating systems, applications, and management toolscontinue
to evolve. Vendors that supply mobility solutions integrated with unified communications platforms are well
prepared to meet the needs of midmarket enterprise technology and business challenges.

Analysys Mason Limited 2013