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Personal and Business Data Co-Existing on One Smartphone, with Reduced Risk

By Helen Streck posted 10-13-2011 21:02

  

This article was co-authored by Norman Weiner, VP Technology Services, Kaizen InfoSource. The concept of having voicemail messages appear in your email inbox isn’t new.  In the ‘90’s Novell introduced the “unified inbox” as a single point of collection for diverse sources of data.   Records and Information Management professionals have had to address the retention and destruction of voicemail messages attached to email messages ever since.  To ignore the issue was a high risk for discovery, and compliance. 

Today, wireless communication has evolved to the point where smartphones are an essential appliance for conducting business both within and away from the office.   With a strong business policy and user discipline, smartphones provided by a company can be repositories of business records.  

“Apps” on phones running Android, iOS, Windows 7 and Blackberry operating systems now consolidate and aggregate information into “hubs” from which documents, email, text messaging, video, audio, Twitter, Facebook, Google+ and other social media are combined. 

Where is the line between an owner’s personal information and a company’s business records which reside on a personally owned smartphone?  How do you apply retention, secure business records, and remain compliant for business data which resides on personally owned smartphones?    

If you haven’t addressed these issues, you should be concerned.

In that cloud of dust off in the distance are “Smartphone Virtualization” developers who are riding to your rescue.  They are working with smartphone hardware and software manufactures to develop software for a “Virtualized Smartphone.”  This will be virtualization similar to that used on servers and PC’s.  It would allow your smartphone to be two separate phones on one device, one for personal applications and data, and another for business applications and data.

For additional security, information on the “business” virtual phone could be encrypted, remotely managed by the company, and be “remotely wiped” if lost.   

If virtualization for smartphones evolves successfully, this concept will provide a practical means  for Records and Information Management and IT professionals to secure company assets on devices not owned by the company.   

Keep a close watch here as we continue to monitor the progress, status, availability, and performance of virtualized smartphones.



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08-13-2012 09:52

Do you have any examples of banks currently using this technology?