Partner Article

BYOD and the World of Business

Mobile computing devices such as tablets, smartphones and laptops are becoming increasingly dominant in the workplace: even if companies are not distributing them directly to their employees, more and more users are bringing their own machines from home, or are employing smart devices outside the workplace for work-related tasks. Manufacturers are channeling funds into producing business and productivity focused machines. Targeting businessmen and businesswomen with complex data management and processing needs, many mobile computing units are going beyond being low-productivity entertainment devices for students. The trend, known as BYOD (Bring Your Own Device), has exploded in parallel with growth in cloud computing solutions for business, and has to – a large extent – been encouraged on all fronts. But adoption of a BYOD strategy is not without complications, and the general up-take has, therefore, not been quite as fast as one would expect.

Enterprise solution providers often pitch BYOD an effective cost-cutting measure that can also make for a more flexible and productive work environment, potentially extending working hours past the traditional 9 to 5. But this is not always the case. In fact, one of the main complications that businesses face is the spiraling cost of employees increasing data consumption. Indeed, the organic development of in-house BYOD strategies often means expense claims are based on a wide range of tariffs, negotiated, for better or worse, by the individuals themselves.

From a technical point-of-view the integration of a wide and ever increasing range of available mobile computing units- from the latest laptopsto tablets continues to provide quite a challenge for IT departments – each model presents different issues, whether it be in terms of networking, or security. It is for this reason, in a recent interview; the BBC acknowledges they find BYOD risky, potentially putting them at the ‘bleeding edge of technology’.

The crucial factor for many businesses tackling the process of formulating a BYOD policy is security: for each device that gains access to company’s network, a vulnerable spot opens up. It’s a matter that is as relevant for small and medium businesses, as it is for the larger corporations – particularly with attackers these days being incredibly opportunistic. And it’s not just an issue of protecting the data the device has access to, but also of defending the system from any malware present on the device.

One solution might be to allow Android tablets in the workplace access solely to the internet, keeping outside devices technically separate from the company intranet and therefore away from all corporate software and data. Of course, this virtually eliminates the business advantages of BYOD in the first place. Many IT departments, therefore, have come to the conclusion that permitting access to corporate data via an MDM (Mobile Device Management) server, and setting permissions for each device, is a better approach.

Since the BYOD phenomenon is here to stay, whether companies like it or not, the pressure is now on for them to formulate comprehensive legal policies and rules of engagement, at the very least. Unified data plans and possible caps on device usage might take the sting out of unanticipated BYOD expenditure for the moment – but growing security and networking issues will soon be impossible for businesses to ignore. As it is, start-ups are currently best positioned to address these issues from the outset. Despite the unknown future of BYOD, businesses should not hesitate to prepare for what is ahead.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Writer on the go .