#GenMobile is the term that’s used to describe a generation of people who have shaped their personal and working lives around mobile devices. Today’s younger employees, the mobile-natives, are changing the way companies operate by behaving in ways that have far-reaching implications for corporate network security.
But this shift is much more than just a case of ‘we’re always connected’. It’s about the availability of new (and often free) web-based tools and apps that rival the functionality and power of anything your company can provide. It’s a complete behavioural and attitudinal change of direction.
“#GenMobile are productive. They get work done and they do it well, using all the tools they can get their hands on. Their innate familiarity with tech means they are self-empowered to power through their to-do lists.”
Sabahat Nasim
Channel Sales Manager
Gulf at Aruba
a Hewlett Packard Enterprise company
You might be a #GenMobile’r yourself — you might have adapted, consciously or not, to dipping in and out of work comms at pretty much any time of the day and paying less and less attention to the old 9-to-5 edict. But to younger generations, this isn’t something new — it’s business as usual.
This is where Aruba Network’s report helps paint a picture of #GenMobile — who they are, how they behave and how their three most striking working habits could affect your business.
1. Super-productive, super-effective
Let’s start with the positives: the survey found that #GenMobile are productive. Their innate familiarity with tech means they are self-empowered to power through their to-do lists. Consumer tech is driving this change: 51% say that mobile technologies enable them to be more productive and engaged at work.
2. Collaboration, collaboration, collaboration
A huge part of this uptick in productivity is a new culture of sharing and collaboration. #GenMobile are really good at this. There’s a chance your company already has some kind of collaboration tool in place or in development, so you don’t need to be reminded how useful sharing and working together can be.
3. Passwords? Don’t even…
Yet this is where the story takes a darker turn. This self-empowered, ‘get things done’ attitude means security concerns take a backseat. A fact illustrated by rising levels of security agnosticism: security ranked a lowly fifth in workplace tech priorities for the #GenMobile workforce.
4. Risky business
Creativity, collaboration and sharing all bring valuable advantages, but there’s clear evidence it breeds risk. Six out of ten of those asked are happy to let others regularly (at least once a month) use their work smartphones, while a fifth don’t have passwords on their mobile devices at all.
5. Managing #GenMobile
Given #GenMobile’s benefits, accepting some small degree of risk is good – but only if you and your organisation can understand and plan for the security risks these behaviours bring with them.
6. Great mobile security starts in the air
A good place to start is to put in place a secure, yet adaptable, wireless network within the workplace. Here are a few things to consider:
- Deploy flexible security policies that are capable of analysing – and acting on – the context of how the employee is using the mobile device.
- Regulate Wi-Fi traffic with intelligent policy firewalls that can keep track of app usage. This ensures that different apps are classified according to its security rating based on the role of the employee within the organization.
- Make sure that all communications over the air are encrypted and sent over secure channels.
