Not an acronym person? That’s cool. It stands for Bring Your Own Device. BYOD has become a frequent occurrence in business, and the IT industry is no exception. Many companies are allowing their employees to use their own devices for everything from email to complex proprietary systems.
As with most all worthy issues, Tech Republic has something to say on the matter. They did a great article last month called 10 Myths of BYOD in the Enterprise. It dispels some of the preconceptions about BYOD – the idea that most big, prosperous companies are not allowing it, that Apple is the main offender, that it will cause employees to waste time on personal matters (more so than in a non-BYOD environment), and that it is necessarily a costly and involved process to switch. There are legitimate considerations in favor of and against a BYOD workplace, but the fear that it will cause employees to be less productive shouldn’t be one of them (if it is, there are greater issues to address than the simple question of BYOD or not).
What might be the most salient point in the article is the last one – you can’t stop it. In our interconnected society, expecting employees to “unplug” – in an IT setting – is simply an outdated idea. Instead, the decision should be the cost and benefits of a BYOD system against one implemented with a company-provided device for uniformity.
Forbes has it right when they say the focus should be, if you are considering a BYOD setting, what sort of Mobile Device Management will need to be implemented. What systems must employees have mobile access to? What level of security will need to be implemented? Rieva Lesonsky of The Huffington Post discussed these matters just today.
If you’re interested in learning more about how a potential BYOD system can be implemented, a great place to start is this InfoWorld whitepaper on BYOD and mobile strategy. You have to register to download it, but it’s well worth it. Plus, what are you doing without an InfoWorld login?