As the world gets increasingly mobile new challenges are arising both for the marketing department, as well as throughout a business enterprise. 

Today, we're pleased to feature a guest post that explores the big BYOD question that is currently challenging employers. (If you'd like to submit a guest post to our blog, email Michelle LeBlanc at mleblanc [at] iirusa.com)

Image courtesy of shutterstock.com

The policy of Bring Your Own Device or BYOD has become a pressing issue on businesses and enterprises adopting mobile solutions for their operations; it’s a bit of a double-edged sword.

Adopting a BYOD work policy definitely has its merits. In an increasingly post-PC era people are becoming more and more reliant on their smartphones and tablets for their daily tasks and activities – work included. Allowing people to connect to the company network and do their jobs on their own devices introduces more channels for employees to be productive.

For companies with people doing fieldwork, it can be a means for a truly mobile and connected workforce without the need to spend for additional (expensive) hardware. On the other hand, BYOD can also lead to more distractions and the diversion of a worker’s attention away from doing the job at hand. There is, of course, the very real risk of these devices becoming tools to spread viruses, malware, or open security breaches and data theft on the company network.

So what is the attitude of companies towards BYOD these days?

According to the second annual Consumerization IT survey from InformationWeek Fifty-six percent of companies now consider themselves proactive or accepting of consumer technology. Here is an infographic that neatly summarizes their report:


Source: http://visual.ly/byod-enterprise

It’s a strategic solution moving at a rapid pace. Within the enterprise, employees now enjoy using their own personal devices in offices and executives look at how efficient the movement is with more productivity gains by the process. More companies are now encouraging employees to use their own devices for work-related tasks on a completely voluntary basis. This is shifting the enterprise management process that is traditionally based on IT developing devices and managing what devices workers use. Accordingly, major changes are necessary to prepare company IT departments and enterprise networks to support the arrival of BYOD, especially in enhancing the privacy and security of data.

However, this may pose as a challenge for tech support teams as they have to become more responsive and capable of handling a diverse range of mobile devices and operating systems that will surely be used on a BYOD model.

BYOD challenges aside, companies are still willing to go with the trend. It’s a very simple business strategy that delivers operational benefits. BYOD is for the benefit of employees and businesses alike. With its rampant growth, it’s set to increase its value accordingly.

With the consumerization of enterprise mobility, employees are now bringing their own devices to access company resources. It’s an inevitable revolution happening right now. Statistics reliably show how BYOD in enterprise is an effective strategy that can be overcome with the rapid development of technology we have today.

About The Author
Jimmy Wentz is a budding freelance tech writer, gadget and gaming enthusiast, and social media junkie. He writes regularly about O2 and the latest news in the tech, gaming, and the social media world.
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