BYOD or BRING YOUR OWN DEVICE is one of the latest concerns facing Baltimore business owners as more employees want to bring their own smartphones, tablet computers and other computing devices into the corporate environment.
BYOD offers Baltimore business owners a cost alternative solution versus traditional practices of supplying cell phones, iPhones, BlackBerry devices and now Windows Surface and iPads. However, the downside of BYOD is security and stability and in some industries, compliance.
We have some basic BYOD tips when implementing a BYOD policy in your business:
- Have a strategy – Meet BYOD head on. Define the boundaries of your BYOD policy and what issues your policy may encounter. Mobile devices are the reality and they will be used. Business owners must not take a passive role around BYOD. Mobile devices have forced changes to corporate communication strategies. BYOD allows for increased efficiencies, productivity boost and cost reductions.
- Understand Real Costs – Businesses who welcome mobile devices into the workplace understand they provide a remarkable amount of functionality, efficiencies and productivity. When every employee has a smartphone, it may seem like a more cost-effective solution to allow employees to use their own devices. BYOD entails a lot of work on the network side, providing a stable and secure environment can present a challenge. This challenge may drive up the overall cost of supporting the network, devices and security.
- Work out reimbursement – Employees expect to the reimbursed or at least have some sort of allowance. Some expect the cost of the device to be covered and also compensation for the plans required to access data. Employees have a mindset that they are now on call 24/7 and always reachable. Businesses must work out fair compensation and reimbursement when implementing a BYOD policy.
- Goodbye standards – Multiple platforms and the plethora of devices equals an uneven playing field when it comes to smartphones. Technology presents complicated problems for a business looking at standardizing across the company. Applications, services and devices provide business owners with concerns over creating and sustaining workflow that accommodates most devices.
- Workflow – Mobile devices are both a godsend and an albatross around the neck. Many business owners understand that smartphones are here to stay and not going anywhere. Business must implement workflows independent of devices and must elect to go “platform agnostic”. Workflows must be set around the methods of work and not the devices employees use.
Has your company elected to push forward with a BYOD strategy and allow employees to bring their own phones, smart devices and other gadgets to work on? Do you have questions about implementing a BYOD policy in your business? Our IT professionals have experience working with many of the leading smartphones and applications. We can ensure your business has a successful implementation of a BRING YOUR OWN DEVICE policy.
Do you have questions about BYOD in your Baltimore business? Contact Integris today to learn more about how your business can use personal smartphones effectively and keep data secured.
