However, there seems to be a slight divide between those who believe BYOD is a great way to improve worker productivity and those who think it crosses the line between work and personal domains by putting a company’s private assets in risk.
Do the benefits outweigh the risks? And are there steps that companies can take to minimize those risks? These are questions that businesses are faced with when deciding if BYOD is the right choice for them.
The Benefits of Bring Your Own Device
Let’s start out with looking at the benefits that BYOD offers to the workplace.Increases Productivity
One of the most obvious benefits of allowing employees to use their personal devices for work is that it will encourage them to be more productive. According to a new study from research firm Ovum, some employees have adopted a “live to work” mentality that would encourage the use of personal devices for work.Employees may use the ability to “take their work home” as a way to get ahead and show initiative within the company. The study also mentions that developing countries such as Brazil and India have faster BYOD adaptation rates than mature countries, meaning that employees in these countries are more flexible when it comes to use their devices for work, demonstrating a more flexible attitude to working hours. This benefits both the employee and the company as a whole.
Makes things simpler for employees
Letting employees use their own personal devices that they’re already familiar with will help them a lot. When people buy a mobile device, they personally pick out what they want and the features that suit them best. They’ve given the purchase plenty of thought since they have invested a good amount of money into it. Hence, they will more than likely prefer to use the device they purchased instead of a company issued one.Cost effective for companies
Depending on how the BYOD program is implemented, companies may potentially save a lot of money on mobile phone plans. If the company allows employees to use their own personal devices, the company might not pay the phone bill.Because different employees will have different types of plans, it’s difficult for companies to pay each individual’s bill. The company can also choose to offer a per diem each month to be used towards employee cell phone bills. This will still save the company money as the amount paid will likely be less than the cost of paying the entire bill.
The Risks of Bring Your Own Device
Now that we’ve examined the benefits, let’s take a look at some of the possible risks.Leak of private information
When employees have work related information on their personal devices, it increases the likelihood that private or confidential information may be leaked. If an employee uses a device shared by a spouse or children for their work, the information on the device can easily be shared by others.Lack of security
With all of the Trojans, viruses, and phishing scams in the world, threats to IT security is a very big problem. If employees are not taking the necessary steps to protect their devices with antivirus software or aren’t privy to popular phishing scams, vital company information could be compromised. There is also the possibility of an employee losing their mobile devices as well. If lost, there’s almost anything that can be done to access or block the information stored in the device.Backlash from employees
Even though BYOD is a popular trend, some employees simply would prefer to keep their work and personal life completely separate. This will mean that some employees won’t take well to having to bring their own device and you may receive some backlash.This is an issue you and your company will have to address and take into consideration. The “live to work” culture can affect employee’s personal life and many, no matter how committed they are with your company might consider changing jobs is they feel absorbed by their work.
How to address the risks
As you have seen, there are definitely risks associated with BYOD. Luckily, almost all of them can be eliminated through the use of a mobile device management software. This is software that can be installed on mobile devices to give your IT department control over personal mobile devices used for the purposes of work.Employees will of course have to consent to having this software installed on their devices, but once installed you will have the ability to do things such as lock the device, completely erase the information on the device, and reset the passcode to access the device. This tool will typically be a part of most IT management software, and is a necessity if your company incorporates BYOD.
Ilan HertzAbout the Guest Author:
Ilan Hertz is the Online Marketing Manager for SysAid Technologies, a leading provider of IT Service Management solutions, deployed at over 100,000 companies around the world.
G+ and code: Ilan Hertz.