There is a great debate raging in the security industry today on how to best provide secure corporate data in a BYOD world. The consumerization of IT and bring-your-own-device (BYOD) are becoming prevalent in organizations at lightning speed, both with and without the knowledge of corporate IT departments.

The days of the IT department dictating what devices are used where, when and how, are long gone. Organizations need to dramatically change their mindset if they want to appease end users voracious appetite for new devices and applications while at the same time providing security for proprietary and sensitive corporate data. Therein lies the great divide.

Some organizations are implementing policy controls for access, monitoring and management with an eye toward visibility into what is happening on their network. Others look toward the device itself to provide a level of protection against potential threats by offering endpoint protection in case of loss or theft inside or outside of the organization.

The point is this. Regardless of how technology is utilized within an organization; IT departments are being forced to accept BYOD for the reality that it has become. Chances are that even if BYOD is not sanctioned within your organization, someone is using their iPad or other device on your company network with or without corporate sanctions or permission.

One of the key challenges is for IT departments to keep up with new applications and technology hitting the marketplace every day. The sheer number of applications available is nothing short of staggering, never mind the ever changing world of newly arriving devices. With limited resources and rampant budget constraints employees are continuously taking matters into their own hands and are pulling out credit cards and their Amazon Web Services accounts to get things done. One way or another then, the BYOD crowd is going to use the hardware and software of their own choosing. The corporate world can either choose to embrace it willingly, or die trying.