The wide use of tablets and smartphones has led many companies to allow their employees to bring their own devices to work. You may have seen this referred to as ‘Bring Your Own Device’ or BYOD.

The main concern that companies have about implementing BYOD as part of their IT strategy is centred on security issues. However, companies are looking at the benefits BYOD brings and incorporating BYOD company policies to address the security concerns.

A survey compiled by Which says that 95% of respondents either already supported BYOD or were at least considering supporting it. And, Gartner predicts that by 2017 half of employers will require employees to supply their own device for work purposes.

The Pros and Cons of BYOD

Here are some of the benefits and potential issues to consider before implementing a BYOD policy:

BYOD Pros

  • Increased productivity
    • Employees can work from anywhere and at anytime
    • Create bespoke company apps
  • Employee familiarity with their own devices
    • Reduces IT training costs
  • Decreased IT costs
    • Reduces hardware capital expenditure

BYOD Cons

  • Not all employees have their own devices
    • It’s a cost they may not want to incur
  • Employees may not be happy about incurring costs related to damage caused whilst using the device for work
  • Employees will have a range of different devices with different capabilities, operating systems and programmes and varying levels of quality
  • Generation gap between employees may mean adoption by all will take time
  • Security issues over holding corporate data is a concern for both employee and employer
    • Creating a company Mobile App allows corporate data to reside on personal devices while still under complete control of the enterprise
    • IT Administrators can add a range of security features to the Mobile App

Implementing BYOD

Implementing a BYOD policy will require a plan. Here are a few points to consider including in the plan:

  • Communication is key. Engage with your employees before implementing BOYD
  • Focus on the need of the employee. Understand what they will be using their device for
    • Accessing emails on the goCreate an app for field sales or service personnel to be more efficient
    • Create clear boundaries around personal and corporate data
  • Put agreements in place about who’s responsible for what costs and what happens when an employee leaves the company
  • Viruses can cause damage to your business. Research security options and weigh up the risk

Our recommendation is that you treat BYOD as an IT project. It needs to evolve over time.

If you would like to discuss how BYOD could be adopted within your business, call us on 01737 824 003 or email rod.bradbury@tlptech.co.uk.