The recent buzz-words “Bring Your Own Device’ that have been flooding the social media channels and blogs this past year have transitioned into a full-on trend in the marketplace. “BYOD”,as it has been shortened to, has become a new fad (or is it?) with fans and naysayers on both sides of the fence. We’ve taken what people love and hate about BYOD and boiled it down to the truth. Is it responsible? Is it safe? What problems does BYOD pose? What benefits does it provide? Should I get on board and create my own BYOD policy? All these frequently asked questions and more are answered in our humble opinion in this week’s IT Leadership Blog.
First, what is BYOD really meant to do?
BYOD (Bring your own device) is a business mindset that has taken the enterprise IT world by storm. The purpose is to allow a “non IT department owned and managed devices”, consumer level, to connect to the corporate environment effectively, securely and reliably. But how secure is it really? That’s been one of the leading questions among others that have driven the BYOD argument into the hot topic it currently is today.
It will cost your organization a lot of money; in time, effort, and new technologies to effectively manage these devices.
It will be an added challenge for any IT department to manage the mobile devices and their safe integration into the corporate environment.
What happens to your confidential data when employees lose their mobile devices? Without an effective BYOD management policy, it can be a large headache for the IT staff, as well as, security and financial risk to the business depending on who the user is, and what access to data they had via the mobile device.
7 Best Practices when Creating Your Company’s BYOD Policy
When adopting a BYOD strategy, SMB’s should consider if they have the resources to support personal devices and then create a policy that adequately covers the use of personal mobile devices.
1. Acceptable Use -Acceptable Usage and security policy that is required by corporate employees prior to first connection to the network.
2. Device Selection – Determination of what technologies/devices will be allowed and which will be supported by the Internal IT staff
3. Reimbursement – Is the company willing to pay for the employee’s device and services for them to access the corporate network and data?
4. Mobile Device Management– Implementation of a Mobile Application Management (MAM) system without impinging on user’s personal property. Permission from the user for the corporate MAM to be installed with permission for remote deletion of all data (personal and corporate) on the device. (Remote “Wipe” functionality)
5. Application and Security – Determination of what data/applications users can access from BYOD, as well as, security management of the BYOD devices. For example, how to keep viruses and malware from the personal BYOD from affecting the corporate network and data.
6. Network Design and support – re-architecture design for the network in order to handle the increase of devices connecting.
7. Agreements – The agreements and the policies should be in writing and have employee signature. This raises the consciousness about the critical nature of mobile IT operations. This should be as clear as possible to prevent misunderstandings.
Factors You Should Consider When Deciding Whether or Not to Implement BYOD
1. Number of remote or telecommuting employees
2. How much access employees have to privileged information
3. Possible regulatory requirements impacting employees’ use of mobile devices
4. How to support software application or platform preferences
5. Extent of IT support required for employees
6. How mobile employees are including amount and types of travel (international vs. domestic)
The Top Three Key Benefits to Embracing BYOD as a Company
1. Increased Productivity
a. Mobility increases responsiveness and therefore, decreases productivity delays by being able to access office communications from a mobile device saving at a minimum of 30 minutes per day per employee. 31% of small businesses with few than 20 employees report that they are improving efficiency through the use of mobile apps. Thanks to those apps, they are recouping an average of 5.6 hrs/wk.
2. Cost Savings
a. When using a complete UC solution that includes mobility, a company with 100 employees can save 191 hours/day company-wide. Mobile apps can help small business owners save an average of $377 each month. BYOD reduces the amount that SMBs must invest in devices when their employees use their own devices.
3. Flexibility
a. 75% of SMBs said that allowing staff to use their own smartphone, laptop or tablet in the workplace would position their firm as a “flexible and attractive” employer. Not only does BYOD give SMBs the appearance of being a larger company, but employees prefer to work for SMBs that embrace BYOD.
In conclusion, as the lines between work and leisure continue to blur, professionals of all types want access available to corporate data, apps and reports on the same devices that they are capturing video of their children’s sporting events. BYOD is not a synonym for “free for all” or “because I want to”. Once an organization allows the use of employee’s personal mobile devices and computers for work, it needs to put a BYOD policy in place immediately.
The details for acceptable usage and repercussions for the BYOD policy should be specific to the business. They should cover basic questions like: How should users protect their devices both in and out of the office? What data and applications can and cannot be accessed? What happens when a user loses their device or leaves the company? Where does the employee’s responsibility end and the business responsibility begins? And of course, what level of support will your IT staff provide to users and on what types of issues for these non-corporate owned devices?
Although, there can be some cost savings such as a reduced capital expenditure on corporate supplied phones and telecom service charges. They may not offset or generate enough of an ROI, to warrant being a factor in the decision. The IT labor costs and increased management overhead will increase but it is estimated that many users may gain 3-6 hours per week in productivity and availability on time sensitive issues.