While using new devices is an exciting time for employees, the technology can represent a huge challenge for IT departments. These devices must be able to access the corporate network in a secure manner, and provide easy and safe access to enterprise applications. If these considerations aren’t made, a business can be exposed to a variety of risks as well as potential productivity hindrances.

To address this, an IT strategy which maintains the security of infrastructure and creates a platform for the workforce to maximise its potential is required. A BYOD policy will vary from organisation to organisation, and needs to be based on the priorities and concerns of both individuals and the business, which can be achieved by making the following considerations:

• Eligibility – consider exactly who is eligible to participate in the BYOD scheme – is the initiative open to the entire workforce, inclusive of contractors and freelancers, or solely senior management? Consider frequency of travel, savings to the company and worker-type when granting approval for employee-owned devices.
• Devices – Evaluate how smartphones, laptops and tablets – even wearables – may complement or impact business practice. Older devices running legacy operating systems (OS) may struggle to communicate with newer ones – not forgetting those you can’t physically see. With this understanding, define how to best support the plethora of devices wanting to connect to your network.
• Virtualisation – For many, a more effective approach is to roll out desktop or app virtualisation, which allows users to securely access the corporate network regardless of the device, its OS, or software.
• Communicate – With any workplace alteration, communication is the key to success. Encourage departments and teams to chat with management about the BYOD policy and invite an open discussion around fair-use or appropriation.

With personal devices finding their way into the day-to-day running of all organisations, embracing (and managing) them is an enabling factor to driving security and success. Note, however, that BYOD policies do not happen overnight. Take the time to listen to the requirements of your team and appreciate the factors surrounding them. No BYOD policy is one-size fits all, so tailor a strategy suited to your practice for an effective, transparent roll-out.

ABOUT SAFI OBEIDULLAH//

Safi Obeidullah is director of technical services at Citrix ANZ.

Migrating to a new operating system (OS) presents a number of challenges, including the possibility of critical applications no longer being supported in the new environment. Get it wrong, and an upgrade can deliver the exact opposite of what you’re trying to achieve – costly, complex and time-consuming transitions that have a negative impact on business outputs.

Therefore, considering the importance of IT to business today, it’s critical that any upgrade is achieved seamlessly, quickly, and within budget. With this in mind, here are five simple steps to make your transition to Windows 10 an easier journey.

• Don’t get lost in migration

The first consideration is to assess support for business applications in the new Windows environment. For instance, will your CRM solution be able to satisfy security legislation? Is your HR platform Windows 10 compatible? For incompatible applications, you can use virtualisation technologies to deliver these applications to Windows 10 seamlessly. This approach allows you to move to Windows 10 and not lose any functionality or be forced to wait for your application vendors to release supported versions.

• Maintain compatibility

An operating system hardwired for cloud and mobile optimisation is only as good as the device running it. Think about whether your hardware and software, such as the portals you use to access business applications remotely, will harmonise with Windows 10 and ask experts how the robust update will impact your existing corporate devices. Business has changed dramatically since Windows 8 launched in 2012, and with the rise of BYOD it’s important to ensure that this new upgrade will complement the output of your entire team – not just those within the office.

• Put your software to the test

To make the migration as effective as possible, it’s important to test the compatibility and performance of applications within the new environment to highlight any potential issues that may impact end user experience. Encouragingly, today there is a range of app migration software available which provides clear insight into application compatibility in a new or migrated environment including Windows 10. This empowers users to identify the changes they need to make before going live with Windows 10, ensuring optimum performance from day zero. This approach can reduce the cost of upgrades by as much as 90 percent.

• Be sure to back-up

Backing up data is a crucial step when migrating to a new operating system. It would be unproductive (and potentially damaging) for your archives and important files to be inaccessible on a new OS, so be sure to back-up these files and put measures in place so that you’re able to access them following the migration.

• Make sure it’s the right place, at the right time

Every organisation is different, with different priorities and objectives. If you’re unsure as to whether to stagger your upgrade or update department’s gradually over time, remember the free upgrade is available for 12 months. With a range of products and tools to help businesses adopt Windows 10, the once strenuous migration process has never been easier. Today, there are a range of migration technologies enabling you to automate and analyse how business applications will perform in the new environment, reducing the cost and complexity of upgrades, and which provide a great opportunity for enterprises to modernise their IT infrastructures.