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BYOD: the next game changer in IT
Bringing personal devices into the workplace is the norm
in the West. It is also catching on in India. Sujai Hajela - VP/GM of
Wireless Business Unit, Cisco, talked to Pupul Dutta about advances in
mobility that were poised to reshape the enterprise and drive growth and innovation
What are the global trends in IT or wireless technology
that you are witnessing these days?
 User
expectations have risen. They want a better experience irrespective of the location,
whether they are on the office LAN or connected via Wi-Fi, they want to enjoy
a seamless experience without drops or congestion.
This expectation of seamless experience is driving rapid
mobile growth and it is also leading to the growth of smart enabled devices,
whether it is tablets or smartphones.
Some studies after comparing the mobile data usage in 2010
expect data traffic to grow 26 times by 2015. The expected number of smart devices
on the network by 2015 is expected to be 15 billion, more than the world’s
population. These expectations are driving demand on the network. The way that
we communicate and socialize is undergoing a change. People our grandfather's
age are also hooked by tablets.
The key trends in the global market are BYOD, unified access,
service provider Wi-Fi and cable operators doubling up as hotspot providers.
Do you believe that BYOD has been widely accepted?
Globally, the industry is acknowledging BYOD. Employees today are allowed to
bring any device that they want to the workplace. Companies don't care what
device an employee is getting as long as they can manage certain functions of
the device. Earlier, IT teams said ‘no’ to this trend but now they
cannot, given its widespread popularity with the top brass. Be it at work, at
home or on a soccer field, seamless technology is what is expected. This trend
will definitely sweep India as well, although it may take a little longer. BYOD
is a productivity enhancement tool, which will get accepted in all spheres of
the industry. More so, it is best that CIOs start working on the trend rather
than denying it. It is not that CIOs don't want it, what they are looking at
is how to secure it. All one needs to do is define a security architecture before
allowing any alien device into the company.
Could you elaborate on the other two trends that you mentioned?
The other trends that we are seeing are of unified access and service provider
Wi-Fi. Today, while working on any device be it a laptop, desktop or tablet,
users want to have same experience on every single device. For this, the IT
team has to enable unified access. Whether the device has a wired or a wireless
connection, it doesn't matter. But an enterprise shouldn't bother about that;
rather, it should enable a seamless experience.
The third trend that we are seeing, which I think is a pretty interesting one
is that of service provider Wi-Fi. Service providers, till now, have tried to
stay away from Wi-Fi as they felt that 3G was good enough. 3G/4G networks are
unable to keep up with the amount of data that is flowing on them. More and
more service providers are adopting Wi-Fi for offloading traffic.
Another trend that is fast picking up is that of cable operators offering Wi-Fi
hotspots in an attempt to retain their customers. This is yet to come to India
but globally it is picking up. Operators offer hotspots to reduce congestion
on their cable networks and this helps them reduce customer churn. Otherwise,
the cable operator has nothing other than basic cable to offer, which can also
be obtained via DTH or IPTV. Therefore, in their attempt to add value, they
have started offering Internet facilities. This is resulting in the creation
of revenue generation schemes.
What networking related trends do you see in India?
There are certain areas where India is ahead. Laying landlines is a big problem
in India and this gave birth to the boom in cell phone usage. The service has
also been made cost-effective and is an efficient means of communication.
The velocity of wanting information in real time has started growing in India.
Technologies that improve employee productivity are being sought. There is a
dearth of skilled manpower, so anything that enhances employee productivity
will be welcomed.
To sum it up, India is witnessing a trend towards mobility, converged access
or unified access and also towards service provider Wi-Fi. Though BYOD as a
trend has caught up in India, we are certainly lagging behind when compared
to other countries.
Are you in talks with any Indian companies for implementing
BYOD solutions?
We are in talks with a lot of companies in India for BYOD solutions. We have
received a few large scale orders. We can't disclose the names due to NDAs with
them. At present, BYOD is seen more in the IT-ITES space as these companies
need more flexibility to work from home, coffee shops or while traveling. Some
large consumer durable companies are also deploying these solutions.
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