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BPM vital as mobile gains legitimacy

Cindy Cheng, ​Sr. Director of Marketing Communications, EMEA, Appian
April 4, 2013

The mobile device movement may still be fairly young, but it is rapidly gaining legitimacy as more IT departments begin to accept the inevitable move toward bring your own device. For a while, many IT leaders resisted the trend, at least when it came to many company solutions, because the data protection risk is so great. However, efforts to improve mobile security have combined with an economy that is pushing companies to think aboutmoney first and worry about security later. This has created an environment in which mobile solutions have gained prominence quickly and better management and data protection methods are emerging frequently. In this fast-moving climate, organizations can benefit substantially from strategic investments in business process management software.

Using BPM to support mobile data protection

With many IT departments finding that they almost have to support mobile to keep up with competitors and keep employees happy, there is a growing need to align mobile functions with business process and data protection goals. When it comes to using mobile devices effectively in the workplace, the entire application and data landscape has to change. Employees using smartphones and tablets often require mobile-optimized apps that are generally delivered through the cloud or mobile web.This means that data needs to be shared between mobile and web apps, so different employees getting the job done on a variety of devices can collaborate effectively and handle processes as efficiently as possible.

This need for data sharing points to the other major mobile problem - security. The big issue with data protection on mobile devices is that it is extremely difficult to properly secure smartphones and tablets, especially becausethey can easily be lost or stolen. One of the best ways to avoid data loss or theft is to create a setup in which information is not stored on the end-user device. This can be difficult, but it is possible when depending on the cloud.

BPM solutions can alsohelp organizations avoid having data written on end-user devices. Software systems that provide a write-once, distribute everywhere foundation ensure that the data is only written to one location, usually a secure server, and then sent to end-users through a secure network. This ensures that the data is not stored on smartphones and tablets.

While mobile device use presents operational and security challenges, BPM can overcome many key issues and help companies benefit from the BYOD movement.

Cindy Cheng

Director of Product Marketing