Many are wondering whether the recent advent of Windows 8, with its apparent targeting of multi-platform synchronicity, will bring an end to the semi-chaos that Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) can inflict upon a company system.

In recent years the explosion in popularity of mobile and tablet devices has brought with it some big problems for IT departments to handle. Gone are the days when a company could issue its employees with a generic Blackberry and ‘work’ laptop.

These days, people want to use their iPhones, iPads and any number of different Androids and other devices to access work material, but securing and aligning these personal devices with the company network can be a nightmare.

Various features of Windows 8 seem to be directly intended to make it easier for workers to have their work and personal devices converge. However it isn’t just a question of what Windows 8 does to address BYOD issues but whether or not the uptake will be sufficient enough to bring about significant changes for IT in business.

Being able to effectively manage the processes and systems of a company’s network is integral to the running of a business which is why it is so important to adopt a service management system like ITIL. We offer ITIL training that will provide you with a comprehensive understanding of the ways in which IT can work for the business and not just for itself.

Windows 8 vs iOS vs Android

Being able to move from one device to another whilst sharing files or applications is nothing new, but being able to literally synchronise everything on a PC, tablet and a mobile is a huge selling point for Windows 8. In terms of business, the idea that you can finish a presentation you began in the office on your PC, when on your mobile on the bus home is an attractive prospect.

In terms of BYOD, it means that if you’ve got a Windows 8 phone there will be no issue when connecting it to the company network because it will have all the same files and security settings as your work computer.

However, this assumes that people will take to the Windows tablet and phone, which if recent Apple sales are anything to go by, will be no mean feat for Microsoft to achieve. If people cling to using iPhones and iPads in the workplace then everything just said is pretty irrelevant. It’s not very likely that Apple and Microsoft are going to strike up a partnership any time soon, just to bring an end to the issues caused by BYOD, is it?

Perhaps even more of a threat to the uptake of Windows 8 on mobile devices is the popularity of Android. At least with iOS devices they are relatively standardised so in terms of BYOD, whilst they don’t come with the synchronising capabilities of Windows, they are easily configured to the systems of a company network.

Android brings with it it’s own issue of device fragmentation (how many different devices, by different manufacturers run Android?) which is perhaps the most difficult of all BYOD issues to address.

Windows 8 bringing an end to BYOD issues will require the popular rejection of all Android devices which seems implausible, to say the least.

This means that whilst in theory Windows 8 could herald an end to the complications that arise from the current trend of BYOD, in reality it will require both such an enormous uptake and an unprecedented OS switch-over that these BYOD problems are likely to still be bugging IT departments for a while yet.

Our popular ITIL Foundation course will give you the basics needed to understand how ITIL helps businesses manage IT efficiently, including the latest developments in BYOD and the cloud.

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bring your own devices, byod, it infrastructure library, it service management, ITIL, itil byod, itsm, windows 8

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