The age of universal connectivity is upon us. By 2014, there will be more mobile devices connected to the Internet than PCs. What are some of the key implications of this phenomenon? For society? For communications networks and their security? And for the future shape of the workplace? Our Istanbul Big Conversation Summit addressed the questions and debated some of the answers.
Almost everywhere on the planet, the instant global connectivity provided by personal mobile devices is changing social relationships, engagement with brands and even whole societies. In Turkey, location of our most recent Big Conversation, the phenomenon of instant communication is both prolific and well understood.
Turkey is a country with 50 million Internet users and 65 million mobile phone subscribers (in 2011). Its business and technology leaders, not surprisingly, are well aware of The Power of the Individual that derives from affordable and instant connectivity. In fact almost a third of them said that right now, this is the single most important of our four Big Issues. Move ahead to 2014 and the proportion increases to nearly 50 per cent.
The opportunities inherent in universal connectivity are clear: vast online communities of instantly accessible consumers and huge opportunities to reach and influence a billion markets of one. But if the opportunities are great, then so too are the challenges. Connectivity is rapidly assuming status as one of the most prized aspects of the global citizen’s lifestyle. In recent research, the most talented young graduates of the knowledge economy have confirmed that they would rather take a pay cut than lose the privilege of accessing social media, on their own preferred devices, while at work.
Accommodating these preferences is a stiff challenge for technologists. More “freelance” devices connected to corporate networks mean more potential security headaches. And the more successful the online corporate and brand presence grows, the more the threat of breaches from malicious attack proliferates. But as Stuart Hill of BT explained in Istanbul, the right technology and skills can protect even the highest profiles from the most acute hacking threats. Stuart describes the 2012 Olympic Games online security situation as a “potential carnival for hackers”. The staggering data confirm the scale of the opportunities for mischief. There were 8.5 billion separate devices connected to the network during the Games period. The Olympic website attracted 450 million visits.
To put the growth of an unpleasant phenomenon into perspective, there were 12 million malicious hits during the Beijing games. Vancouver experienced 20 million. In London 2012, there were 212 million malicious attempts to invade the network and the games website. As Stuart emphasised, a large proportion were “pranksters”. But, on one well if not fondly remembered day in August, a 5 hour period saw 11 million malicious hits a second from servers around the globe. What was their impact? Happily, there was none whatsoever. In spite of open access and multiple device connectivity, the London 2012 Olympics did not witness one single network security breach. Stuart describes this achievement as the “biggest pride point of the Games.” It certainly underlines the fact that the best expertise can contain and control even the most prolific attempts to breach network security. Proof positive that global organisations can embrace a high online profile and prolific traffic with confidence.
And what of the challenges set by BYOD? Our Istanbul senior leader audience is already familiar with the role of personal device connectivity as an incentive, when recruiting high calibre talent. More than a quarter described it as “imperative”. Nearly 43 per cent felt it to be “important”. Given the status of BYOD as a “carrot” in the race for high skill employees, how well understood are the technology, security and network management issues?
Nearly one third fed back that their organisations had “cutting edge” understanding of the issues. Almost half of our technology and business leaders responded that their BYOD issue knowledge was not cutting edge but “increasing”. Perhaps, in this growing climate of awareness of the issues and challenges around BYOD, we have one of the answers to a question raised by Luis Alvarez in Istanbul: “how are we going to manage all the young people”? By enabling them, while at work, to connect for their own better future.
To view the slides and videos from the Singapore Leadership Summit visit here.