The "Bring Your Own Device" (BYOD) movement has surged throughout companies across the entire world. The added benefits of productivity, flexibility and cost-efficiency of having remote workers that can use their own mobile devices in order to perform company tasks are far too great to ignore. BYOD usage varies with employees. Some employees only use BYOD to retrieve company email and calendar data, while many other employees do company tasks directly from their smartphones or tablets.
For 2016, BYOD usage is expected to grow by around 20%. However, with so many remote employees using their own devices, this can cause issues if the company does not have a clear BYOD plan in place. Not only that, but a BYOD plan must be continuously managed, monitored and updated to ensure that the company's confidential and sensitive data does not get leaked out into the wrong hands.
BYOD Plans Are Cost-efficient
A competent, well-designed BYOD plan can provide huge savings for companies that manage their plans and the employees that are involved in the plans properly. Employees that work remotely need less management which boosts productivity as managers can focus on important company issues.
It also helps reduce costs by eliminating the need for companies to purchase hardware and equipment to set up employees in an office or cubicle.
Keep it Secure
Lost and stolen mobile devices has actually passed malware and hacking to become the number one cause of data breaches. When a BYOD plan is devised, security must be one of the top priorities. This includes several actions:
• Employee training: This is the most important. Human error is the number one reason for data loss, and with the sophistication of smartphones and tablets, files can be accidentally deleted or moved. Accidental leaks through email and social media can occur as well. Employees must be completely trained in all aspects of BYOD usage and policies.
• Monitoring: Many companies monitor the employee devices to ensure that leakage of company information does not occur. This raised some privacy issues, so many smartphone manufacturers now offer devices that have two separate areas of use - one for personal and one for business,
• Recovery and wipe: If a mobile device is lost or stolen, there must be policies and a plan in place to quickly recover and/or wipe data from the device. Remote wipe allows the company to quickly erase all data on the device remotely. Some devices and apps allow the company to remotely recover files from the device. This can help prevent data loss, and the data can be remotely wiped after recovery to ensure the data is not leaked.
BYOD Management is the Key
The most important part of a BYOD plan's success is the management of the plan and the employees, as well as the employees' cooperation with the policies of the plan. Setting up a BYOD plan that covers company policy, employee training and security is essential to company productivity and success.
