Unless you’re a particularly strict boss, chances are your employees are already participating in BYOD (or Bring Your Own Device). According to LifeWire, a recent survey concluded that four out of five employees are bringing their own devices to work to complete work-related tasks.
Put simply, BYOD means that workers are using their personal phones and laptops to send email, make work-related calls, access pertinent files on the cloud, and more.
While BYOD is popular in many businesses, the policy comes with both benefits and drawbacks. If you’re on the fence about allowing your employees to bring their own devices into the office, here are some considerations to help you make the best choice.
Pros of BYOD
- When you allow an employee to use their own device at work, you can skip over expensive training or time-consuming troubleshooting .Given that many people spend hours at a time on their devices, they are often intimately familiar with how apps or programs work, and what their device is capable of.
- Cost effectiveness. Outfitting your entire workforce with business-owned devices can be costly. Aside from the initial investment into the electronic devices, outfitting your workers involves paying for maintenance, repairs, data plans, and more. Also, small or medium-sized businesses may lack the buying power to buy into an enterprise option.
- Worker satisfaction. Because workers are permitted to use their own familiar devices, they feel empowered by the choices they have made. That happiness might spell increased worker retention, according to MSI Data.
- More flexible hiring. Many people experience intense consumer loyalty when it comes to their devices, and may only know how to use either Windows or Apple-based operating systems. Some businesses require familiarity with one platform or the other. This practice can exclude job candidates who may otherwise be a good fit for your organization.
But while BYOD may have many upsides, many businesses are becoming aware of the cons.
Cons of BYOD
- A user’s device may not have all of the necessary security features of a company-owned device. Lack of updating, vulnerability to spyware and hacking, or simply losing a phone with important files on it can lead to important company information being leaked.
- IT challenges. Your IT department may have a harder time assisting employees with different devices. Because year, make, and model each have different functionalities, hardware, and software, it can be tricky for IT to help troubleshoot problems.
- Program compatibility. Some programs simply don’t work on certain devices. For example, Skype doesn’t work with Blackberry. And for users who enjoy using more obscure devices, they might not be able to access the apps and programs that make your business work. It’s important to find software with a wide breadth of compatibility to avoid these problems.
Fortunately, some of the cons of BYOD can be mitigated, so you can still enjoy the benefits.
Discussing security protocols with your team can help prevent data leaks. LifeWire also suggests registering devices, implementing password-protected files, and wiping employee storage after an employee quits or is terminated as ways to ensure that your BYOD policy doesn’t damage your business.
Vodigy Network is a leading IT service provider in Minneapolis and St. Paul. We work with businesses to make technology simple, easy, and seamless. Contact us today.
