BYOD: Should you or not?

As we just discussed emerging threats in mobile security, you may be questioning if Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) is the best policy for your organization. BYOD is inevitable in this changing technical universe, as employees are bringing their personal devices into the workforce more and more, and using them to do their job. Therefore, your business must make sure to be smart, proactive, and protective when it comes to BYOD. Below are some of the pros and cons of BYOD and how to handle them.

Pros

• The number one reason BYOD is beneficial to an organization is that it increases employee productivity. It makes it easier for employees to accomplish tasks because of simple to use applications.
• Employees can work just about anywhere, thus increasing their productivity. BYOD also increases employee satisfaction, according to numerous surveys.
• BYOD can save employers money as they don’t need to provide their employees with the devices, and people are prone to take better care of and maintain their personal devices, which in turn lowers support costs.
• Users can run software and hardware updates themselves, keeping their devices current and up to date.

Cons

• Applications must be adaptable to all different kinds of devices so mobile management tools may be necessary to provide and implement for employees.
• Security risks are of course an important issue when it comes to BYOD. If a device is lost or stolen, or if an employee leaves the company, there is a loss of company data. It is also difficult to control what is acceptable on an employee’s personal device. Therefore, you must implement acceptable use and security policies when implementing BYOD.
• Not necessarily a con, but more something to think about when implementing BYOD: how will you handle payment for voice and data plans, paying for the actual phone, etc. What if the phone breaks? These are all things you need to think about when discussing BYOD.

If your company has a BYOD policy or is thinking about implementing one, make sure that some clear standards and regulations go along with it. To protect you and your business, you need to take the necessary precautions and steps to ensure the mobile devices in your network are secure. You need to outline policies so that you are covered when something happens. It may take some time and effort to get everything right, but a good BYOD policy can be an invaluable asset to your business.