Network strength is vital as tablet computing grows

The tablet revolution has started. Wireless technology is growing and employees have more ways than ever to communicate. As more workers are bringing personal devices to the office, however, IT departments are facing new challenges and internal networks are beginning to wane.

More demand for mobility means IT infrastructures need to keep up. Bring-your-own-device (BYOD) policies need to be put in place to account for mobile device utilization, network access control and mobile data protection.

According to a new survey by AT&T, 67 percent of small businesses use tablets, up 10 percent from last year. Also, 43 percent of companies responded in the poll that all of their employees use some form of wireless device to facilitate working outside of the office.

The numbers shouldn’t be that surprising as tablets can offer access to emails, IM, internal documents and video conferencing. Other benefits of the tablets are their lightweight, portable and cost effective features.

Meanwhile, another survey released by Gartner found that the number of IT departments supporting personal devices for work functions is growing. The 938 businesses surveyed showed that IT departments are supporting smartphones (32 percent), tablets (37 percent) and personal laptops (44 percent) at a growing rate.

The report adds that integration issues and security concerns are leading factors that are holding businesses back from embracing BYOD solutions completely.

Any company that is dealing with an influx of BYOD employees needs to be sure its network can handle the additional workload. Partnering with a managed IT service provider is a wise strategy to avoid any unforeseen slowdowns or bumps along the road.

More demand for mobility means IT infrastructures need to keep up. Bring-your-own-device (BYOD) policies need to be put in place to account for mobile device utilization, network access control and mobile data protection.