A new study released by RightScale last month delivered big news about cloud computing: security is no longer the number 1 challenge related to deploying cloud solutions.
Last year, 28% of IT professionals surveyed cited security as a challenge to cloud, while 27% cited a lack of resources/expertise. This year, the tables turned: 32% cited lack of resources/expertise as a challenge, while 29% cited security.
RightScale’s study may be centered around the state of cloud computing, but its findings also tell us a lot about what’s coming down the pipe for enterprise mobility.
Think about the general deployment process for any new technology in the enterprise—Internet, smartphones, a cloud service, you name it. Whenever a new technology is introduced, IT says no or is hesitant to get on board. Why? You guessed it. Security.
Given a bit of time to develop understanding about the technology, though, security is no longer the biggest issue. Security continues to be important throughout the technology’s lifecycle, but after a while, it’s overtaken by something much more challenging: developing the resources, knowledge, and skillset needed to make the best and highest use of the technology at hand.
As RightScale’s cloud survey shows us, cloud followed this development cycle to a ‘T.’ When it was first introduced, security was the number 1 challenge. Now that organizations have had time to better understand cloud security challenges and how to solve them, though, they’re faced with developing the talent and knowledge needed to really get the most out of cloud.
Right now, enterprise mobility seems to be following a similar path. A Gemalto survey found that over 95% of IT departments are battling with security challenges as they try to increase mobility within their organization. A Dell study showed similar findings. All across the enterprise, security continues to be a top concern as it relates to harnessing mobility strategies.
If history is any indication—and we think it is—then it won’t be long before security ceases to be the number 1 concern surrounding enterprise mobility. Soon, enterprises will instead be faced with discovering new ways to capitalize on mobility and to develop truly comprehensive mobility strategies. That’s much more difficult, but it’s absolutely essential for companies who hope to stay on the cutting-edge.
What’s next after security in enterprise mobility, then, is expertise. Learning from the path cloud has taken in the enterprise, the time to start investing in knowledge and resources for mobility is now. If you can get ahead of the curve and get your organization to invest in developing the knowledge needed to make the most of enterprise mobility, you’ll be in a much better place once security is no longer the top concern.
