It seems BlackBerry Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) (TSE:BB) phone are regaining traction among corporate employees, who were previously awestruck by the iPhone and Android phones. A few years back, when Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) and Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) (NASDAQ:GOOGL) beefed up their device security, BlackBerry witnessed a slump when employees began to be allowed to bring their own devices to the workplace.
Many reasons to revert to BlackBerry
According to CIO’s Tom Kaneshige, the worm is turning back again and employees who were given the right to bring their own devices are asking their organizations to revert back to BlackBerry.
One of the main reasons that employees want the BlackBerry phone is due to privacy concerns. When users use their iOS and Android devices, IT departments gain access to all of their private data along with the corporate apps that might be on the device. Another concern was when employees want to hide their whereabouts, primarily when travelling abroad. Many employees now carry two devices; a personal and a corporate phone, so that they could leave their corporate phone behind when they go out.
Moreover, professionals are not able to cope up with all the mobile device management software, and the related on-device apps result in issues like battery drain and device bogging.
Not employee friendly solutions
Kaneshige cites an example of a well-known investment firm in New York City, where the employees are revolting to get back their corporate BlackBerry owing to the performance and privacy issues.
“It’s a nightmare,” says an IT executive. The executive at the firm said that he had tried his luck with four mobile device management solutions, but each of them resulted in a problem.
“The failure of these systems has to do with little things that drive users crazy,” the IT executive saai. The executive said that the company is an investment firm with many investors, and everyone involved is super smart, which makes it very difficult to accommodate them.
To protect corporate data, the exec had to apply BYOD user policies that prioritoze the company’s rights over the employee’s expectations of privacy.
The executive also noted that there was only one MDM solution that informs the employee if the IT admin was using the location services or viewing apps inventory on a BYOD. Even with this solution, the employee could only view that it occurred, but does not have the option to decline the access.
According to the exec, around 60% of the employees requested to revert to BlackBerry, and added, “We were shocked, blown away, by the privacy reaction.”
