Examining the BYOD Trend

Chess Media Group recently released a report entitled “The Future of Work”, which detailed a number of workplace trends and issues that affect the way businesses are run. One of the key findings of the report had to do with “BYOD” policies in the workplace, otherwise known as “Bring Your Own Device(s)”. Over half of the survey respondents said that their place of work had a BYOD policy in place, and that it encouraged the use of social and collaborative applications in the office.

Let’s take a closer look at the pros and cons of BYOD, and what this trend means for your business.

Why implement a ‘bring your own device’ policy?

• The most obvious benefit is financial. Companies no longer need to spend large sums of money on laptops and other devices that constantly need to be updated or replaced. This is through putting the onus on employees to buy equipment they can use for both personal and professional use.
• Implementing a BYOD strategy can also boost employee satisfaction and productivity. Employees usually work quicker with familiar devices, when they have chosen the make and model that they are comfortable with. Their work is also easily accessible to them at all times, since they don’t have to keep switching between computers and updating their progress.
• BYOD also encourages flexible working. This means that your employees can continue their work wherever they are, whether on the commute home or in a coffee shop.
• BYOD works well with the use of virtual offices, whereby businesses have one central address for official correspondence but whose employees work from multiple locations. 

What are the risks associated with BYOD?

• A rather significant issue resulting from the BYOD trend is the safety of confidential company data. Whether intentionally or accidentally, private business data can be exposed, for example, if the device is lost, stolen or otherwise shared. Depending on the employee’s virus protection on their phone, tablet or laptop, they can also be vulnerable to hackers and others that prey on people’s private information.
• Apart from the confidentiality issue, another factor associated with BYOD that needs to be examined is that of intellectual property. If an employee creates content on their own personal device, albeit in the employ of the company, disputes can arise over who owns the information when the employee leaves. Of course, these questions of intellectual property also depend on the copyright laws of that specific country.

A corporate IT policy

To avoid any confusion, questions of intellectual property, or breaches of company privacy, it is best to draw up a clear-cut company policy that outlines what reasonable measures the employee is expected to take when it comes to protecting company data on their own devices. It is also of utmost importance that the issue of ownership rights regarding content produced for the company are firmly established in the employee’s contract. If companies prefer to rely on their employees to provide the required hardware for work to be done, they also have to accept that some staff members may not always have the fastest machinery, which may in turn affect productivity. 

Whatever you decide with regards to your company’s IT policy, Instant can provide your business with an office that will suit your technological needs, whether you embrace BYOD or decide to issue company devices. The majority of our offices are equipped with high speed internet connections, AV equipment for meetings and videoconferencing capabilities. And, of course, office IT support is common in most flexible office environments, and always handy to have around when IT issues do crop up.