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The Future Of BYOD: Statistics, Predictions And Best Practices To Prep For The Future

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BYOD mightn’t be as well-known an acronym as BYOB, but even if you don’t yet know what it means, there’s a fair chance you already do it. In fact, technically speaking we’re sure just about every person in every workplace subscribes to BYOD. At the risk of keeping you in suspense any longer, the term means – drum roll, please – Bring Your Own Device.

Of course, the designation encompasses more than the reality of employees going about their day-to-day tasks while carrying their smartphone in their pockets. The BYOD concept is that employees can actually work on their own portable devices. Why? Well, for starters to ensure cost savings for the company, furnish flexible working for staff and bolster motivation and productivity: it’s thought that employees work faster when using their own tech.

In this article, I’m going to assess the underlying drivers of BYOD and summarize statistics concerning the use of consumer devices in the workplace and talk about the best practices to ensure proper uptake and security in the future.

BYOD Stats: How Popular Is It and How Does It Affect The Workplace?

If you are accustomed to working on a desktop computer, at a traditional fixed workstation, the idea of using your own device for work might seem a little strange. That said, the number of people who incorporate their personal devices into their professional lives has steadily increased since the advent of smartphones, laptops and tablets.

Even the simple act of scanning or responding to work emails on your smartphone or laptop while riding the train home, or doing so before bed, blurs the line between professional and private lives.

Let’s take a second to look at some interesting stats relevant to the BYOD market:

  • The BYOD market is on course to hit almost $367 billion by 2022, up from just $30 billion in 2014 (Source: BetaNews).
  • 61% of Gen Y and 50% of 30+ workers believe the tech tools they use in their personal lives are more effective and productive than those used in their work life (Dell)
  • 60% use a smartphone for work purposes while 31% desire one (Dell)
  • Companies favouring BYOD make an annual saving of $350 per year, per employee (Cisco)
  • Using portable devices for work tasks saves employees 58 minutes per day while increasing productivity by 34% (Frost & Sullivan)

Considerations and Best Practices for Employers and Staff

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BYOD might sound like a win-win concept, but there are important considerations to be made before deciding whether it is a workable solution, both from the perspective of employer and employee.

Security is one example, for there are undeniable risks in permitting employees’ access to corporate resources from personal devices, and indeed the dangers posed by malicious applications and viruses disincentivizes many organizations from implementing BYOD. The very real prospect of cyberattacks is understandably frightening for business owners.

Companies that are serious about implementing BYOD must account for the fact that users are the weakest link in the security chain, and source solutions that can resolve – or at least mitigate – these issues. Cloud Management Suite, for example, grants companies the ability to manage their entire IT infrastructure on the cloud, including devices that are outside the business’s direct network, such as personal devices.

Allowing BYOD, while saving money in the short-term (reduced hardware costs, device maintenance etc.), can raise other interesting questions. Such as: what if your employee’s device breaks? You are technically not liable to indemnify, even though you do pay for necessary business software it contains. But if the staff member cannot afford or otherwise obtain a replacement device in the short-term… then what?

Even worse, what if the device is lost or stolen? Such an eventuality could pose a serious security risk, particularly if hackers or data thieves gain access to sensitive information. For example, user devices may be linked to a company credit card – for the purpose of booking an Uber or business hotel, say – which could then be compromised. To immunize against this, specialized mobile device management (MDM) software can be deployed to selectively restrict in-app purchases.

One such solution is Soti MobiControl, a mobile device management tool that works for any device and any operating system; you can use it to deploy devices easily, manage mobile apps and content, eliminate mobile device downtime and improve security across your business.

A lost device can also mean loss of information, whether in the form of notes and memos or presentations, worksheets and other valuable documents. This could be especially problematic if you work in a sensitive sector such as legal affairs, politics or the medical field.

Before tightening security, businesses should think long and hard about the process of gearing up for BYOD. After all, it’s not simply a matter of instructing your employees to bring in their iPhone next Monday and get on with it. A multidisciplinary team must be in place to discuss and then create a framework.

Employees from HR and legal divisions should participate, and they are likely to deal with matters as disparate as employee eligibility, questions of funding, device selection (tailored tech for different roles/tasks), support models, records management, training and support, employee privacy, audit requirements, data usage limits and backup, IT strategy, termination policy and other byzantine legal considerations.

What Does the Future Hold for BYOD?

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As mentioned earlier, the BYOD market is set to reach nearly $367 billion by 2022, up from a mere $30 billion in 2014. Clearly it will continue to be adopted by employers compelled by the potential benefits, as well as employees keen to enjoy greater flexibility. In short, BYOD is here to stay.

Nevertheless, it seems more likely that companies will commission Bring Your Own Device programs to augment, rather than overhaul, their traditional way of working. The best of both worlds, in other words, will be the order of the day.

The relationship between IT departments and BYOD is also subject to change as more employees use their own devices at work. IT managers need to keep a close eye on employees and the devices they bring in to work in order to make sure the business is protected and that the employee isn’t violating any compliance issues.

The truth is, BYOD will always divide opinion. While some employees would prefer to separate their work and private lives entirely, and are repelled by the notion of using a personal device in the office, others warmly embrace the removal of such barriers.

The evolution of BYOD will necessarily encompass policy and compliance changes and more refinement of employer and employee expectations. Security protocols may also be standardized as companies seek to strengthen their data defenses, and some companies may branch out by creating internal applications and project management tools to be used on portable devices.

Whatever direction you or your paymasters take, it is important to take heed of the aforementioned points to ensure the viability and longevity of the arrangement.