Brett Favre’s cell phone and mobile device management
As an avid NFL fan, I have been following the saga that is Brett Favre’s un-retirement. I don’t want to bore with you details as you can find it all over the web, including here.
Of particular interest to me is this news item that talked about Favre using a Packers-issued cell phone, and how the Packers organization then reviewed his cellphone records as part of their ‘tampering’ charge they filed (with the NFL) against the Minnesota Vikings.
This got me thinking about device management. Now what does that have to do with device management ? Bear (and no that is not a pun given the Packers’ much despised NFC North rivals)’with me, while I make the connection.
I spend a fair amount of time talking to customers about the implications of mobile applications (including devices) especially from a security, management, and operations standpoint. And a critical part of that discussion is ensuring the organization has clarity on the lifecycle aspect of mobile applications - procurement, provisioning, ongoing support (including theft/loss), and technology refresh.
Given the predominantly ‘retail’ procurement of mobile devices in most organizations, IT’s ability to ‘enforce’ much by way of policies is frankly, limited. However, when you consider the increasing amounts of corporate information (email, contacts, customer information, etc.) that makes its way onto mobile devices, IT managers need to define and enforce policies that safeguard the employees and the organization from security breaches. And that is where device management comes in.
Without a set of clear policies that define among other things individual vs corporate liable devices, the types of security measures required on mobile devices, etc. and the ability to enforce it with a set of automated tools (ie. device management software); IT managers can forget supporting mobile devices in a manner that other IT assets (laptops, desktops, email, etc,) are supported.
Obviously in this situation with Favre’s phone, we are not talking about the typical scenario (in terms of confidential Packers data). But then again it is not a stretch to imagine the entire Packers playbook fitting on an SD card. Imagine the brouhaha then !!! Then you just might hear mobile device management and its colorful vocabulary (kill pill, wipe, quarantine, etc.) on the next edition of SportsCenter….
