Impact of poor mobile device governance
Mobile devices and services continue to be a rapidly growing component of enterprise budgets, yet many enterprises have no coordinated approach to mobile expense management. Oftentimes, enterprises do not analyze how actual usage compares with mobile service contracts and therefore fail to make cost saving adjustments. Expense management becomes increasingly important as more enterprises allow employees to submit their expenses for personally owned mobile devices. Many enterprises do not have visibility into whether or not an employee is spending company money on personal calls, application downloads or ringtones. Some enterprises with mobile service contracts have discovered that operators may continue to bill the enterprise even after an employee has left the company!
The use of mobile devices exposes the enterprise to security threats such as device loss or theft, data leakage and malware attacks. The high value of smartphones makes them perfect targets for thieves. In addition, the small size of mobile phones makes it easy for them to slip out of a pocket or purse. Employees often "leak" sensitive information from a phone to a PC or secure digital card. Finally, growing processing power, storage capacity and broadband speed make the smartphone an easier malware target.
Personal use policies on mobile devices can vary widely. Some enterprises prohibit personal calls, forcing employees to carry two phones, one for business use and one for personal use. Others allow p
