I’m working with a lot of tech related trends in a new job of mine and BYOd (Bring your own device) is probably one of the biggest deals besides Cyber Security. It’s talking about bringing your own device to work, meaning you would use your personal iphone for work and play. Personally I’m not a huge fan of mixing the office with home, I’d rather leave it at home (as you can probably tell I’m not yet working in an archives…). But this new device seems really cool and might be the answer to making the portable workspace a reality without encroaching upon happy hour.
The once ubiquitous and now seemingly forgotten computer company, Dell, may finally be making a comeback by answering all of our BYOD related prayers.
Ophelia, Dell’s newest “Cloud Key” project may soon be used by every major company.
What Dell is working on is a small device that connects to the HDMI port of any sort of device.
It will use the power from that device and then will connect you to your company’s cloud and then to your work desktop. By using wifi and Bluetooth, it will also connect to a keyboard or a mouse so the device can be used like a normal computer. When they say any device, they mean over 250 million devices, such as TV’s on display at stores. In theory, you can finish up an emergency project at Best Buy while you pick up the latest season of Dr. Who.
Why is it Awesome?
- No quality is lost from Ophelia to the device
- IT departments can manage the device through Cloud Client Manger Software (and it comes free with Ophelia!)
- Once Ophelia is removed, no data is left on the device that had been used.
- Data cannot be stolen because it is not stored locally, but rather on the cloud.
- It will sell for “well under $100”
What Does This Mean for Employees?
- It’ll be much easier to make your personal device a temporary work-device, protecting your data and being able to “turn off” work, separating that often muddied line.
- Work materials wont fill up precious space in personal devices
- Teleworking can become more spontaneous and can happen almost anywhere.
What Does this Mean for Employers?
- Eliminating the need to have to decide on a certain type of device (Android, iPhone, etc)
- Saving money on providing devices or IT services for personal devices
- Data protection is easier and more accessible
- IT departments can monitor activity in real time to fix problems and maintain security.
Right now it sounds amazing, so hopefully it will be as great as it sounds. If anything, it seems that technology companies are moving in the right direction.
Side Note: And in case you’re wondering, “Ophelia” is just a project name and will be renamed when it officially goes on sale (supposedly during the first half of 2013). I’m anticipating the device will have a much better future than Shakespeare’s heroine did (maybe it will even be waterproof)
I'm Not a Librarian 