Written By Guest Blogger:  Caroline Black

We have entered the world of the flexible workforce. More and more companies, and people, are turning their backs on the way we used to work. There are great benefits in working from home or allowing employees to do so, for both the employer and employee. These include reduced overhead costs, increased engagement and improved productivity, to name a few. However, having even just one remote worker can expose a company to a wide variety of previously unknown security risks.

When we think about integration we think about the act of bringing together components into a single system that functions as one.  In the description of IT integration we believe it refers to the result of all the hardware (servers, mobile devices, computers, laptops), software and services (disaster recovery, IT managing and monitoring, backup, help desk), brought together in an organization.

Mobile devices and smartphone technology are often taken for granted. While this notion can leave us feeling naked without our iPhone or Samsung Galaxy in our right pocket, it can also hinder our appreciation for the challenging development of these devices over time. Consequently, it is important to remember the primitive flip phones that we owned only five to seven years ago and to recognize the benchmarks that were reached through a taxing process of innovation. Furthermore, the consideration of the problems that were solved and the novelties that were implemented by progress within the field of mobile devices permits us to create a realistic image of what we can expect from our future smartphones. Mobile device technology should not be understood in an isolated context. Instead of simply reflecting upon what we can and will be able to do with our smartphones, greater value is extracted from contemplating how mobile device technology will interact with coinciding technological development.

The Internet of Things (IoT) is arguably the most revolutionary step within industrial progress since the development of computing technology. Not only has it changed the entire business network, but our understanding of social organization has been significantly altered. All individuals have the ability to share their ideas with the entire online community, and the traction of an idea is not necessarily limited by a content author’s authenticity. In fact, the IoT allows anyone to become the leader of a movement and to develop a strong reputation alongside the expansion of their idea itself. This is valuable to both the environmentalist trying to save the world’s ecology and the marketer trying to drive traffic to his or her business’s website. As businesses create new ways to take advantage of the Internet of Things, they encounter a greater need to understand how IT will support their online retail platform, customer and lead organization, content publishing, project collaboration, activity monitoring, and computer or device management. Smartphone devices allowed the IoT to become what it is today by giving users the ability to interact with the Internet at any moment in time, and it is this observation that demonstrates the importance of using mobile device technology to stay connected as a business. Ultimately, the IoT changes businesses’ approaches to operations by modifying the structure of their information systems and creating a demand for new IT solutions.

Mobile technology is surely altering the way in which businesses conduct themselves. It is an investment that few are willing to disregard. Increases in productivity and efficiency, enhancement of management capability, promotion of communication, and greater access to information are all irrefutable practical advantages of integrating mobile devices into a business network. There are, however, evident disadvantages as well when upgrading a business model to include mobile technology. While high data service and IT management costs as well as initial unfamiliarity with the application market can lead a business away from exploring this technology, it is growing security complications that are the most inconvenient consequence of a mobile business network.