Intel Expands Successful BYOD Initiative
Intel Expands Successful BYOD Initiative by UCStrategies Staff
After generating an additional annual productivity of around 5 million hours in 2012 from its bring-your-own-device (BYOD) program, Intel is set to expand its successful BYOD initiative.
According to Kim Stevenson, CIO of Intel, the company made savings of around 57 minutes for every employee workday from its BYOD program in 2012. The yearly IT report of Intel released in the first week of March 2013 reported such savings. Collaborating via instant messaging and other tools has saved time. Similarly, other tools allowed in the company’s BYOD program enabled employees to access internal information quickly.
In an attempt to grow Intel’s BYOD program and subsequently the company’s productivity, more devices and cloud services were included. At the end of 2012, 23,500 mobile devices, most of which are smartphones, were included in Intel’s BYOD program. 23,500 represented an increase of 38 percent from the number of mobile devices included in 2011. Moreover, 41 mobile apps, as well as 16 more applications, were supported.
Since Intel’s employees use multiple mobile devices, a private cloud is built to enable them to gain access to the company’s services and information. According to Intel CIO Stevenson’s report, access is then enabled according to the mobile device’s capabilities, location, and preferences.
Over the past two years, mobile devices used by Intel employees have increased by more than 200 percent. Thus, security measures are instituted to prevent instances of malware or data theft. The company has set up various security models and access privileges according to the type of mobile device and location. For instance, a BYOD security model that is still being tested and is set to be completely deployed this year gives Intel employees more access to internal data and services when they use laptops rather than smartphones. Stevenson said that the objective is to create a secure infrastructure that does not get in the way of mobility.
A security feature called VPro is used by Intel to remotely control and safeguard ultrabooks. VPro is a hardware and software security bundle that allows system administrators to remotely disable VPro-equipped ultrabooks that are compromised.
Intel is also trying out an “instant conferencing application,” which simplifies the process of joining an audio or video conference. A locator application directs Intel employees across campuses and makes it easier to discover empty conference rooms.
Smartphones make up the bulk of 23,500 mobile devices included in Intel’s growing BYOD program. A small number of laptops and tablets are also included, as well as ultrabooks. Although no breakdown of the types of devices was made available, Intel internally handed out 500 smartphones that used the company’s processors. ARM processors run most smartphones and models today, and smartphones powered by Intel Inside have just begun shipping in 2012. (KOM) Link