Among the major advantages small businesses have over the larger ones is their ability to be more agile. For example, small businesses are much more likely to allow employees to work on the device of their choice – tablet, laptop, smartphone, etc. – in the workplace. It’s a practice known as BYOD (or Bring Your Own Device). While it may help in keeping costs down and feel more natural to the user, is BYOD really a good idea for the workplace? We’ll talk about it in this issue.

The Popularity of BYOD

A study carried out by Gartner revealed that 40% of U.S. employees use their own personal devices for work. Another study by network security firm Fortinet found that more than half of the employees surveyed between 21-31 would find a way to circumvent company policies banning the use of such devices.

Pros of a BYOD Policy at Work

• Cuts costs for technology. As an owner, you’ll not have to foot the bill for mobile devices, and cell and data plans as the BYOD policy will shift those costs to the individual employee. Even if the plans are subsidized by the business, the costs will be much less than having to roll out company-wide technology initiatives.
• Seizes on advantages of newer devices. Generally speaking, individual users will upgrade to the latest models more often than businesses do. That means they – and the business – will have access to sleeker, faster and more capable devices.
• Increased production from employees. Because they’re using a device they understand and are familiar with, employees are much more likely to be more productive with a device they know.

Cons of a BYOD Policy at Work

• Security is a big issue. While security should not be ignored with a BYOD policy, it’s definitely not an insurmountable challenge. Data, a valuable business asset, will most likely be stored in one form or another on an employee’s personal device. Once they leave the corporate environment, the risks of potential leaks increase greatly.
• Problems with compatibility With everyone working form their own personal device, there are a host of compatibility issues that can arise, including conflicting platforms, incompatible hardware, version mismatches, wrong configurations and devices that do not support a particular protocol.

Take Advantage of the Expertise of C3IT

For expert knowledge in business computing the professional way, get in touch with C3IT. For a free consultation, give us a call. Our number is 800-728-1441 or you can reach us online.