Bring your own device, or
BYOD, is a disruptive phenomenon where employees bring non-company IT into the
organization and demand to be connected to everything – without proper
accountability or oversight.
Source: Gartner
& CXO Today
The rising demand
for anytime, anywhere connectivity and the increasing affordability of IT
devices is giving way to new trends like BYOD (Bring your own device).
Employees are now willing to buy their own IT gadgets and use them to remain
connected to their workplace.
But experts warn
that in the absence of proper accountability and monitoring these devices could
a number of other concerns for the organization. Through 2014, employee-owned devices will
be compromised by malware at more than double the rate of corporate-owned
devices.
The three BYOD challenges for enterprises are
-
Governance & Compliance
BYOD could lead to violation of rules,
regulations, trust, intellectual property and other critical business
obligations. Gartner suggests that instead of restricting or completely
withholding support for employees’ devices, companies can identify 3-5
devices/variants that the organization is equipped to handle. The organization
also needs to pre-plan and prepare itself for any possible risks such as data
leaks or mishandling of sensitive information. A detailed guideline could be
worked out to control and monitor access rights of employees.
Mobile Device Management
Organizations need to manage growing
workforce expectations around mobility. Employees may use many devices and they
expect to use any device or application anytime, anywhere. But workforce
demands for mobility should not outpace the ability of the enterprise to handle
them. IT managers need to find a balance between user expectations and the
costs involved in managing such devices.
Security
This remains the biggest concern of
enterprises while allowing employees to use their own devices. If left
unmanaged, BYOD can lead to loss of control, impact the network availability,
and cause data loss. Enterprises need the right network access strategies and
policies in place to secure your environment.
While IT managers may find their own ways to
deal with the above issues, it is equally important to motivate employees to
comply with enterprise policies to improve the odds of BYOD policy compliance.
