移动化企业真谛

    “自带设备上班”是企业移动化的开端

    对于企业来说，“移动化第一”的第一步就是确保员工无论在哪里工作、使用哪种设备，都可以获得到想要的信息。我们最新经常在媒体上看到的“自带设备上班”的趋势就是这种变化的开端。再过短短几年，如果还有哪家公司不允许员工用私人设备连接公司的应用和内容，肯定是一件不可理喻的事，就好比今天哪家公司不给员工提供电脑一样。

    好消息是，许多企业已经预见到了这一点，而且已经开始鼓励员工利用私人移动设备工作。有些公司已经尝到了甜头，比如既节省了硬件成本，也提升了员工的满意度和生产力。以潘多拉媒体公司（Pandora Media）为例。该公司的财务总监史蒂夫•凯克布莱德注意到，自从公司允许员工使用私人设备工作后，员工的生产力和快乐感都有所提高，同时也节省了公司的硬件成本和培训成本，实现了企业与员工的双赢。

    当然，企业要想朝着“移动化第一”的环境转变，并非只是在全公司范围内下达一封邮件，或是转发信息总监的一个指示那么简单。随着企业开放了信息读取渠道，安全性和规章制度的遵守问题会变得越来越重要，因为员工可能会成为这些问题上最薄弱的一个环节。

    不过如果企业制定了正确的计划，并采取了适当的措施，那么企业充分开放移动化所带来的好处将远远超过其所带来的风险和挑战。而拒绝开放移动化的企业将来必然会吃到苦头。这就好比上世纪80年代第一批个人电脑上市销售后，还有人非要花钱去买一台新的打字机。

    选好移动平台

    当然，机会背后也隐藏着一些我们都希望避免的陷阱。目前我们可能犯的最大的错误就是在移动平台的选择上站错队伍。如今智能手机市场呈现iOS和安卓（Android）两强争霸的局面，黑莓系统制造商RIM的影响力已经变得无足轻重，而微软正在奋力追赶。要想知道是东风压倒西风，还是西风压倒东风，企业领导者必须研究一下最受欢迎的应用主要集中在哪个平台上，然后更加倾向这个平台以避免风险。当购买打包的应用和服务，或是在公司内部构建自己的应用时，这一点格外重要。谁也不想自己的公司像Betamax和HD DVD那样被淘汰。

    不久的将来，几乎所有的工作都会变成所谓的“移动工作”。为了利用“移动化第一”的工作环境，越来越多的企业需要具备进行移动研发的能力。如今花在定制应用上的投资已经令套装软件相形见绌，以后在移动应用上也不会有什么不同。企业必须积极地针对未来的移动化趋势进行投资，否则就会面临被边缘化的风险。这意味着企业要么需要集中精力自主研发移动应用，要么就得与具有前瞻性、了解移动化和云计算的伙伴进行合作，因为移动和云计算正在重塑我们的业务模式。企业仅仅依靠传统IT厂商无法在移动化的环境中快速做出反应，因为传统IT厂商经过了几十年“前移动时代”的太平日子，已经把“前移动时代”的惰性烙在了产品的骨子里。

    未来属于那些愿意接受移动化、愿意针对移动化进行投资的企业，而不是那些只依赖现有软件的企业——不管它在今天看起来有多舒服。

    本文作者Todd McKinnon是Okta公司的CEO。他于2009年创立Okta，公司的使命是让企业界充分认识到云应用的种种好处。

    译者：朴成奎

    BYOD is Not BS - It's the Beginning

    For businesses, the first step toward a mobile-first reality is ensuring that their employees are connected to the information they need — no matter where they work or what device they use. The Bring-Your-Own-Device (BYOD) trend we've seen popping up in headlines is only the beginning of this shift. In a few years, a company not allowing employees to access company applications and content from their personal devices will be as unthinkable as a company not providing computers to their employees today.

    The good news is that many businesses are seeing the light and are now encouraging employees to work from personal mobile devices. And those that have are already reaping the benefits, including fewer hardware costs and improved employee satisfaction and productivity. Take Pandora Media (P) as an example. The company's CFO, Steve Cakebread, has noticedincreased employee productivity and happiness by allowing Pandora employees to use the devices with which that they're already familiar, while also saving the company on hardware and training costs. A win-win, indeed.

    Of course, the shift to a mobile-first environment isn't as simple as sending company-wide email or a relaying a directive from the CIO. There are security and compliance issues that come into play as organizations open up their access channels, with employees potentially being the weakest link.

    Still, if the plan is built correctly and has the proper measures in place, the benefits organizations stand to see from fully embracing mobile far outweigh the risks or challenges in doing so. Companies that resist this shift will feel the pinch in the future. I'd compare it to the feeling of being stuck with a brand new typewriter when the first personal computers started rolling out in the 1980s.

    Hitching Your Wagon – Betamax vs. VHS, Redux

    Of course, hidden within all of this opportunity are the pitfalls we all hope to avoid. Right now, the biggest mistake to make would be hitching to the wrong wagon – or mobile platform, in this case. Today, it's iOS vs. Android, with RIM slipping into irrelevance and Microsoft scrambling to catch up. To get an idea of which way the wind is blowing, company leaders must look at where the most popular apps are available and hedge toward that platform. This is important when buying packaged applications and services, and when you're building your own internally. You don't want to commit the company to the next Betamax or HD DVD.

    In the not-so-distant future, nearly every job will be a mobile one. To take advantage of that mobile-first future, more companies need to build competency in mobile development. Money spent on customization has always dwarfed packaged software —and mobile will be no different. Companies need to aggressively invest in this future or risk irrelevance. That means either focusing on their own application development or working with forward-thinking partners who understand the mobile and cloud forces that are reshaping business. Companies won't just be able to rely on legacy vendors, all of which have decades of pre-mobile inertia built into their products, to react swiftly enough.

    The future's within reach for any company willing to embrace and invest in mobile, instead of relying on yesterday's software, no matter how comfortable it may seem today.

    Todd McKinnon is the CEO of Okta, a company he co-founded in 2009 with the mission of empowering enterprises to realize the full benefits of their cloud-based applications.