iOS 9 is here, IT administrators. Any leeway you thought you had to prepare for entry into your networks by productivity-seeking and playful employees is a falsehood. Early reports from IBM MaaS360 show that users are rapidly upgrading to iOS 9 — 5 percent only hours after its launch.

A 5 percent movement for iOS 9 may not seem like much at first, but when it comes to mobile management and security, the devil is in the details. Who are these 5 percenters? What level of data access do they have within their organizations? The CFOs hitting update when settings tell them to creates much greater concern around data delivery and security sieves than someone in customer support mainly using their phone for email.

Mobile Device Management

While mobile device management (MDM) offerings abound, they don’t always account for just how much devices have evolved since the days when email was the only app for business. Data, apps and content must be accounted for today as the line between laptops and tablets continues to blur. Enterprise mobility management (EMM) fits this bill, but the playing field of best-in-class providers is thin at best. If you add in instant support, the options become almost nonexistent — almost.

If you still find 5 percent an acceptable risk factor, I applaud your bravado and hope it doesn’t become a productivity killer for the employees who won’t be able to access information after upgrading. Also, keep in mind that the 5 percent exponentially increases after:

• New devices hit the market — especially when new form factors like the behemothly beautiful iPad Pro hit the shelves.
• The delight of dual-screen data absorption is experienced and shared among co-workers. Many iPads will be retired for the iPad Air 2 based on this productivity progression alone.
• Apps begin updating. App crashes go from bummer to bottom line buster, though, when they lose presentations with three hours of work put into them as opposed to simply losing experience points in games.
• Lighter hard drive load hits the street (or cubes). One of the chief inhibitors of user upgrades to new a OS is storage space. iOS 9 is a quarter of the size of iOS 8, meaning more legacy devices will be apt to make the move.

Waiting to protect and enable your employees’ email, content and apps on iOS 9 was an activity in the days leading up to the press conference. Now, it’s time for catch-up. Fortunately, IBM MaaS360 was ready the instant the notification lit up on the settings icon.

Watch the on-demand webinar: iOS 9: Redefine Mobile Collaboration and Control

Control the Drama of iOS 9 Today

To Share or Not to Share?

iOS 9 streamlines AirDrop and mirroring across Apple devices, acutely sharpening the double-edged sword between information security and ease of access. The line between the two can be easily adjusted with EMM security policies. Devices, data and apps can now all have different and business-appropriate answers to the age-old data access question.

An iPad Everyone Will Desire

The iPad Pro might make the weak of wrist quiver, but its light pen and bigger screen will quickly find their way into departments from design to marketing. Enrolling each of these new devices along with the aforementioned new deluge of iPad Air dual-view devices from the rest of the workforce will necessitate the over-the-air enrollment into the wide world of connectivity and networks across the enterprise.

Apps Around the World in No Time

Changes to the Apple Volume Purchase Program will instantly ease the global distribution of apps. With iOS 9, there is no more need for Apple IDs to purchase corporate apps, easing a huge tracking burden, especially for the retail industry, where the kiosk is king of sales. Global reach is also now a reality with borderless app stores. For the first time, everyone in the business is on the same Pages (or any other app for business).

Silence of the Installs

iOS 9 with EMM services eases friction between IT desire for endpoint security actions from employees. Moving forward, new iOS 9 updates can be pushed by IT during off-hours or any time employees are least likely to need the device. Also, apps that are now part of your corporate catalog can instantly replace an employee’s personal purchase of the same app without any need to form a delete-and-reinstall.

There are many more ways iOS 9 opens businesses to send, share and collaborate across geographic boundaries better than ever before. With enterprise mobility management from IBM MaaS360, it all happens more easily in less time — and it’s ready to act the minute your business does.

For more information, watch the webinar “iOS 9: Redefine Mobile Collaboration and Control.”