Securing and Optimizing Your Mobile Workforce

The high-profile enterprise and government hacking incidents that occurred in the last few months have company CIOs and IT managers really thinking about their levels of IT security.

It is hard enough trying to keep a company network consisting of internal servers and an entire desktop infrastructure up to date with the latest technologies, but now many CIOs are realizing they also have to consider mobile employees and the remote network scenarios – many of which include a Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) or Choose Your Own Device (CYOD) policy.

Employees Are on the Move

Many corporate executives struggle to deal with how rapidly their workforces are becoming mobile. And by mobile, I’m not talking about the worker that gets up from their desk and walks over to the break room. I’m talking about the workers of the 21st century that are equipped with the right technology allowing them to do their work and communicate from almost any location on earth.

The same level of technology that allows for worker mobility also gives hackers and cyber terrorists new avenues into enterprise and government networks, forcing IT network administrators to address these new security risks.

To add to the difficulty of securing IT networks and data for today’s modern mobile worker, CIOs must strive to balance security with productivity. If they make the security protocols too tight and cumbersome, then worker productivity may drop; if they make protocols too loose, the security risk increases.

Network Security is on the High Wire

It is this security versus productivity balancing act that is one of the biggest business challenges enterprise companies face. When it comes to securing mobile devices, IT administrators work with a limited number of tools and procedures. They may only allow company-approved apps with the most up to date versions on employee devices, or use enterprise app stores to create secure apps for users to work with. Often times, they’ll incorporate device management software on the network and two-factor authentication.

The problem is that most CIOs and IT managers don’t understand is that mobile workers are now able to deal with business remotely and instantaneously. Mobility allows workers to solve problems and create solutions on-the-fly. Interrupt that flow, and productivity suffers. Companies must give their mobile workers tools that enable them to stay mobile and work remotely, but also don’t inhibit productivity.

Additionally, when factoring in security, IT managers must take into account the need to meet various security compliance requirements such as SOX (Sarbanes–Oxley) and HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. These regulations can be difficult to meet considering the remote networking technology a typical mobile worker uses on a daily basis.

There Are Simple Tools To Secure Your Mobile Workforce

As complex and difficult to manage the security versus mobility balance is for mobile workers, there are solutions that allow CIOs to provide a high level of security without impacting the productivity level of mobile workers though.

When integrated with a well-enforced BYOD policy, one of the best technologies available for the needs of a mobile worker is secure messaging. It’s clear messaging apps are actively used by employees in the workplace. Why not keep them secure?

Text messaging is a key method of conducting business conversations and collaboration. Research shows that two-thirds of professionals are already texting for business purposes. But, personal messaging apps don’t meet today’s business needs for both professionals and their companies. And business demands more features and functionality than what today’s personal texting provides.

Secure messaging apps, unlike basic SMS texting, offer a great platform for today’s mobile workforce. They provide a means to easily and cost effectively secure enterprise data in BYOD and CYOD situations.

Apps like TigerConnect Clinical Collaboration Platform – Standard for example ensure transmitted data remains private while ensuring HIPAA, FINRA and SOX compliance. Encryption, auto-deleting messages, the ability to send files and remote wipe a device not only safeguard your corporate data, but also increase productivity by enabling fast communication between employees.

In order to secure a mobile workforce, businesses need to select an official platform for communicating. Secure texting provides this. In order to optimize a mobile workforce, business need to enforce policies and procedures that don’t constrain productivity. The last thing your mobile workforce wants is to be boggled down with too many gated procedures and protocols. With the right tools in place, enterprises can remain confident their mobile workforce will also be meeting various compliance requirements.

Download The 6 Keys to Successful Communication at Work to learn more about the benefits of secure texting.