IBM (NYSE: IBM) CTO for mobility Bill Bodin said the company has embraced the practice of allowing employees to bring their own smartphones and tablets into the work place, estimating that by the end of the year 100,000 IBM employees will be connecting their own devices to IBM's internal networks.

In an interview with Computerworld, Bodin said an additional 100,000 employees will be brought on board the bring-your-own-device trend in 2012, for a total of 200,000 people, or about half of IBM's global workforce. Bodin expects the majority of those workers to choose an iPhone, an Android smartphone or tablet. He added that employees will pay for their own devices and monthly service plans but that IBM will give them guidance and technical support.

Employees with their own devices will also be required to load IBM's agent software on their smartphones and tablets for secure access to IBM's systems, email and other functions. Initially, IBM employees will have email, contacts and calendar access through IBM Lotus Traveler.

IBM is bolstering security via the agent software and through the use of VPNs and passwords. Mobile device management tools will enable IBM's IT personnel to wipe data from devices that are lost or stolen, Bodin said.

"At IBM, it's not exactly the BYOD metaphor," explained Bodin. "Rather, we are taking steps to fortify the infrastructure and device management--all the way to agents on the phone itself--to guarantee that the phone has not been hacked or jail-broken, and that the phone, with integrity, can attach to our network."

In addition to allowing employees to bring their own devices into the workplace, IBM also plans to let its employees choose from hundreds of smartphones and tablet applications via public app storefronts. And they can get software from IBM's WhirlWind app storefront, which the company introduced last year. Bodin said IBM employees have downloaded some 35,000 apps from WhirlWind, which contains about 400 third-party apps approved for IBM users along with some 100 apps created internally for IBM employees.

For more:
- see this Computerworld article

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