AT&T Toggle separates your mobile work and play, allows for IT meddling

Go Ahead - Bring Your Own Device to Work

Switch between work and play with a few quick taps on your smartphone or tablet. Carry one device, loaded with your favorite games and apps as well as your business email, contacts and calendars. And imagine your company not minding one bit.

All this is coming from AT&T*.

AT&T Toggle separates and safeguards business data on employees' mobile devices, creating a distinct work mode apart from the typical personal mode in a single smartphone or tablet. AT&T is the first U.S. carrier to announce this type of application, with availability expected before the end of 2011.

Personal mode: When not working, send text messages to friends, watch TV shows and movies, and play games on your mobile device as you otherwise would. Personal activities remain segregated.
Work mode: If it's time to buckle down and focus on business, employees can enter their work environment. In this mode, users can access corporate email, applications, calendars and more, just as they would on a company-provided device.

"Our research shows that approximately 50 million employees in the U.S. alone could benefit from business mobile applications," said John Stankey, President and CEO, AT&T Business Solutions. "Mobile applications delivered in a cloud computing environment can transform business operations. AT&T is focused on integrating advanced technologies – like cloud and mobility – to create valuable solutions for our customers."

Many Connected Devices, Few IT Resources

According to a July 2011 Forrester Research, Inc. report, nearly 60 percent of companies allow employees to use personal devices for work and provide IT support for some or all of these devices.1

The "bring your own device" trend can benefit businesses in a number of ways, saving on costs associated with company-owned equipment and satisfying employees' desire for flexibility. At the same time, IT personnel often struggle to maintain control over dozens of different smartphones and tablets, stretching their time and budgets to the limit.

With the number of mobile applications projected to reach 1.3 million by the end of this year – as opposed to only 75,000 applications for personal computers – managing employee-owned devices is not getting any easier.2

"When it comes to connected devices, one size doesn't fit all," said Chris Hill, Vice President, Advanced Mobility Solutions, AT&T Business Solutions. "People want to use their own smartphones and tablets for work, but that practice can create major headaches for businesses' IT departments. AT&T Toggle helps resolve the issue in a simple, affordable manner."

AT&T Toggle offers a convenient web portal that allows IT administrators to:

Manage which employees have access to which company resources.
Add, update and delete business applications on employees' personal devices.
Wipe all corporate information stored in work mode if an employee leaves the company or loses his or her device.

Designed to strip away complexity for both businesses and their employees, AT&T Toggle can be used on devices running Android 2.2 and higher, and with any service provider.

AT&T customers have already indicated interest in this type of solution. For one organization that provides company-owned devices to more than 1,000 employees, the CIO is exploring a new policy, which would allow employees to use personal smartphones and tablets to connect to the corporate network. With AT&T Toggle, the IT department could manage work-related functions remotely, controlling mobile and security preferences based on employee location and responsibilities. The CIO can protect business data – his number one priority – while simultaneously saving on the costs of issuing separate devices to employees.