MDM Falling Short in the Enterprise

Despite skyrocketing growth in recent years, mobile device management (MDM) providers still have their work cut out for them, suggests a new study (PDF) from defense contractor Raytheon and the Ponemon Institute.

After interviewing 618 workers charged with overseeing security and mobile at their firms — 57 percent of which identified as senior executives and managers — Ponemon discovered that MDM vendors still have a long way to go. Half of those polled expressed dissatisfaction with their current mobile security solutions.

Nearly a third of respondents (30 percent) admitted to having no mobile security capabilities in place. Another 33 percent said that they safeguard their data by encrypting data in flight or stored on a device.

A slim majority, 57 percent, were in favor of keeping data off mobile devices with virtualization-based MDM platforms. Many companies are finding it tough to encourage both mobile productivity and security, with security often losing out in that battle, the report found.

Fifty-two percent of respondents said that their organizations and employees often undermine data security practices to bask in the efficiency-enhancing benefits of mobile device use. This findings don’t bode well for a tomorrow’s workforces, the study suggests.

Currently, one-third of employees are exclusively dependent on mobile devices to perform their work duties. Within the next twelve months, that figure is expected to hit 47 percent. On average, each enterprise organization polled by Ponemon manages nearly 20,000 mobile devices, a number that is expected to grow to 28,000 within a year.

Despite growing mobile device adoption, 64 percent of respondents said that they lack the budget to combat threats to mobile security, nor do they expect those funds to materialize. “The average budget that is considered adequate is approximately $5.5 million annually – or $278 per managed device,” stated the report.

Ashok Sankar, senior director of product management and strategy at Raytheon Cyber Products, said the findings highlight the “struggle to find the right balance between the cyber security needs of an organization and the efficiencies demanded by employees to do their jobs,” in a statement. “Mobile devices are becoming a dominant workplace tool, and organizations must adopt a mobile strategy with data security technologies that enable employees to work effectively without putting sensitive information at risk.”

Pedro Hernandez is a contributing editor at Datamation. Follow him on Twitter @ecoINSITE.

Photo courtesy of Shutterstock.

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