The Pendulum Swings Again on BYOD

Provide devices for your employees or let them bring their own .... that is the question. It seems that pendulum continues to swing. The upside to BYOD, save on hardware costs and don't ask employees to carry multiple devices. The downside is generally focused on security issues and costs associated with managing that risk. It seems that company-provided devices are winning out right now. Check out the latest article from Computer World.

What are we seeing with our GeoJot+ field data collection app? Government agencies and large companies are leaning towards company- provided devices. However, with some smaller companies and larger companies that outsource to contracting companies, they will let or may even require that contractors provide their own devices. These employees are pushing data back into the company but generally are not pulling any data from the company which lessens the security risks.

What are you seeing?

Google's latest venture into location-based data

Esri is the company that first brought GIS into business and government organizations for better decision making through spatially enabled data. Google is the company that brought location-based data down the masses, most individuals now being direct or 3rd party consumers of their mapping products.

Now Google is looking to use their infrastructure, both their streetview cars and their mapping capabilities, to provide information that could be used to improve air quality. This idea represents the true beauty of technology, not just more data but useful data. Field data collection is only as useful as the decisions that are made with it.

Check out a promising vision as Google straps Aclima sensors to its street view cars to map air pollution.