Pros & Cons of BYOD
The BYOD or Bring Your Own Device movement has gained a tremendous amount of traction and isn’t going away anytime soon. Many companies now allow employees to bring their own laptops, smartphones, tablets, and other productivity tools to their workplace and reap the benefits of familiarity.
While most employees tend to speak only positives about BYOD, not all employers share the same opinion because a haphazard BYOD policy can put a company in several tricky situations.
If you’ve thought about implementing BYOD at your office but haven’t been able to decide, consider the following pros and cons of BYOD.
Pros of BYOD
1. Comfort: The best thing about this program is that it allows the workers to use devices that they are already familiar with. Because the employees are already comfortable with their devices, they can focus more on work-related tasks instead of “settling in,” making increased efficiency one of the biggest pros of BYOD.
2. Flexibility: When you allow your employees to use their own device, they are better able to work remotely. Remote workers can join calls, meeting, and general collaborations from anywhere and at any time, without needing work-issued tools to access their documents and data.
3. Cost savings: Perhaps the most obvious benefit of BYOD for employers is the financial savings from not having to buy a device for each employee. Rather than issue a brand new smartphone with its own data plan to every hire, employers need only to ensure that new hire downloads the right applications to their existing phone.
Cons of BYOD
1. Security: Managing security on personal devices that access private work information can become painfully difficult. Security concerns are the reason that an official BYOD policy, including security requirements, is a must. The right unified communications system can also provide a layer of security, storing work data in its own encrypted application.
2. Learning curve: With BYOD, you must invest in educating your employees on the responsibilities, risks, and liabilities involved with using their device in the workplace. While the long-term savings may make up for the resources spent here, the costs involved are something you should bear in mind.
3. Liability: The question of who is liable in case of loss or damage to property rises when the lines between work and personal devices is blurred. It’s crucial to have a policy in place that addresses this concern.
Clearly defining your policy might just be what you need to implement BYOD.
To learn more, get the whitepaper “Is BYOD Right For Your Business? Addressing the Five Requirements of BYOD for Mobile Unified Communications” below.
