What is Bring Your Own Device (BYOD)?

What is Bring Your Own Device (BYOD)

“Bring Your Own Device” means that instead of working on a company-owned computer in the office, you use your own device, be it a laptop, tablet, or smartphone. But employees always do this on their own, since a boss can’t force them to work on their own devices. Most of the time, the boss has to give the workers everything they need to do their jobs.

The term “BYOD” isn’t just used in the workplace; it’s also used in universities, libraries, schools, and other (educational) institutions. In these places, you can also connect your own device to the internal network instead of using the hardware that is already there. For BYOD to work, it needs clear rules, which are called a BYOD policy. These tell the network how many users can use their own devices, what safety rules are in place, and what the rules of behavior are.

In a company, rules are usually made with the help of the employee or the works council and written down in a separate agreement that is part of the employment contract. This is also important because BYOD raises a lot of complicated questions that need to be answered clearly, such as control and access rights, employee privacy, and protecting company data. The employer needs to make sure that there is a legal basis for everything, so that everyone can refer to something official.

How BYOD works?

There are different ways to use BYOD. First, the company should set up security policies for each device, since weak passwords and devices that aren’t locked down can cause data loss. BYOD policies should take into account the following:

1. Minimum security controls, such as encrypting data and using strong passwords
2. What kind of business information can be kept on local devices? (if possible)
3. Conditions for timeout controls and auto-locking features to work
4. What mobile data management (MDM) or mobile security (MS) software needs to be put on BYOD devices?
5. Whether the company has the right to remotely delete business information from the device if the device is lost, the employee is fired, or the device is found to be against company policy.

How safe a business is depends on what kind of business it is. For example, a company that offers financial or health care services needs a higher level of security than a small company that just started out making websites.

Once security policies have been set up, organizations should decide how BYOD devices can be used in business. This keeps malware and viruses from getting in through websites and apps that aren’t secure. The following should be included in these rules:

• Apps that employees are allowed to use on their own devices, with clear rules about which ones are allowed and which ones are not.
• Which websites can’t be accessed when using company resources, company networks, or a virtual private network (VPN)?
• Which user devices can access which corporate apps and data (email, calendar, messaging, contacts, etc.)
• Keeping and sending illegal material or using personal devices to do other things that are not business-related is against the law.

BYOD MDM software, which lets BYOD and employer devices be monitored, managed, and set up from a central dashboard, should be used to enforce policies. Some typical MDM features for BYOD devices are:

• Automatic checks for threats on BYOD devices, such as blocking malicious apps from accessing the corporate network.
• Send updates for anti-malware to devices and make sure they are installed
• Updates and patches for operating systems and apps can be installed remotely
• Putting security policies into place
• Back up business applications and data automatically at set times or on demand.
• Wipe the data off of devices that have been lost, stolen, or hacked.

Once BYOD policies are in place, employees need to know how to use them and be trained on how to do so. This makes it easy for everyone to follow the policies. Fears that the company is “spying” on employees can be reduced by giving new hires a training manual that explains the policies and why they are in place. This can also make it easier for people to accept the policies and MDM software. Lastly, all BYOD employees should sign a statement saying that they have read and understood this policy. This will free the company from any responsibility for its devices being used illegally or in a bad way.

Plans for “bring your own device” should also have a plan for employees who are leaving the company. No matter why they are leaving, this is still true. This includes an exit plan for employee and network directories and a BYOD exit checklist, which includes turning off work email accounts, remotely wiping employer information from devices, and deleting all data and apps from company-owned devices and changing their shared passwords for corporate accounts.

Also, BYOD policies may say that companies will pay for BYOD data plans or broadband connections for people who work from home. They may also have rules about whether employees should get paid if they check their email or take business calls outside of business hours.

Why is it important to BYOD?

Consumerizing IT has a lot of different effects. More and more employees want to use whatever device they want, whether it’s a Mac, a PC laptop, an iPhone, an Android phone, or something else. Because of this, companies have made mobile apps that, in many cases, give line-of-business managers solutions that are easier to use and manage. Why bring your own device is important:

Higher employee productivity: Employees who can use a device they are already familiar with are likely to be more productive than those who have to learn how to use a device they have never used before. Most importantly, employees don’t have to switch devices when they work from home or other remote locations.

Less expensive devices: When more people bring their own devices to work, there are less corporate devices to buy, manage, fix, update, and maintain.

Easier onboarding and offboarding: With BYOD MDM tools, access to the corporate network can be turned on or off without changing the BYOD device.

Better relationship management with employees: When employees can choose which device to use, they have more control over their environment and are often more productive. If they can use the same device at home as they do at work, they will also be better able to work from home.

A perk of BYOD: It is that many employees think it means the company is tech-savvy and forward-thinking. Most employees share the costs of using their BYOD devices, since companies save a lot of money by not having to buy and take care of their own devices.

The advantages of BYOD

The discussion about BYOD is especially important for companies with a lot of workers who don’t sit at a desk. Companies might be able to improve communication between desk-bound employees and those who work from home if they let remote workers use their own mobile devices.
The numbers don’t add up. In fact, the story they tell shows how successful personal smartphones have been in the business world.

Productivity

A Forbes study found that 49% of workers are more productive when they use their own device. Most of the time, workers won’t talk on a device they don’t feel comfortable with. To make sure that important information gets to the right people at the right time, it’s best to let your employees use a device they’re comfortable with.

Familiarity

When BYOD policies are put into place, it takes less time to train employees because they already know how to use their own devices well. Because of this, you will see an increase in efficiency and a decrease in the time it takes to finish tasks, which is good for productivity.

Flexibility

By letting employees use their own devices, they can work from anywhere and don’t need other tools to get to work files. A policy of “bring your own device” also gives the employer more freedom, which is seen as a key factor in job satisfaction and motivation. Flexibility is one of the best ways to make employees happy, and it can also boost their loyalty, morale, and motivation.

Financial savings

Companies save money with BYOD because they don’t have to buy devices for each employee. BYOD can save money in three ways: on hardware, on phone calls, and on support and training. It also cuts down on the cost of repairs and updates. Cisco’s Internet Business Solutions Group did a study that found that BYOD can save companies about $3,150 per employee per year. This amount is based on the cost of the device, the cost of the data plan, and the time savings of $1,518 per employee per year.

Disadvantages with employees bringing their own devices to work

• Possible data leaks from lost or stolen personal devices or employees who leave the company.
• Personal devices don’t have firewalls or anti-virus software.
• IT costs could go up if the department decides to help people with their own devices.
• Not having a network

What could go wrong with BYOD?

BYOD has a lot of benefits, but it also puts the business at risk in a big way. Organizations need to set up security policies and measures to prevent or fix security holes so that intellectual property or other proprietary information doesn’t get out. In a survey by IDG, more than half of senior IT security and technology professionals said that their companies had had serious problems with employees using their own mobile devices for work.

Security

Because BYOD devices connect to both sensitive business apps and networks and services that could be dangerous, there is a high risk of malware infection or data theft. If you lose a BYOD device, third parties could get access to data or apps that aren’t secure. Even a former employee can put company data at risk if they don’t delete sensitive information or uninstall apps from their BYOD device. There are also risks if the employee shares a device with a family member, if the device is sold with sensitive information still on it, or if the employee visits an infected website on the device. Using public hotspots also puts your safety at risk.

Software issues

Businesses need to make sure that all apps and OS versions on BYOD devices are updated with the latest software and antivirus, since malware often takes advantage of newly discovered security holes. Businesses need to be flexible enough to work with many different kinds of devices. This can put a lot of pressure on the IT department. One solution is to give the MDM tasks to a company that specialises in making sure BYOD security. Containerization and application virtualization can be used to solve some of these problems. Enterprise apps are put on BYOD devices as packages to make sure that all employees have the most recent version of a given app.

Data retrieval

When an employee leaves a company, the company’s private information may need to be deleted from his or her device to prevent any possible misuse of information. This could be hard because it could be seen as an invasion of the employee’s privacy, and it is important to protect the personal information of workers.

Lack of consistency

Some workers might still be using laptops or cell phones from 2008, while others are using new technology. When a BYOD policy is put in place, companies save money, but they have to pay more for end-user support. On a team of 10 people, you might find 8 different devices that run on 6 different operating systems. It might be hard to be able to help them when they are having problems.

Finding out who “owns” a phone number is another risk that is often forgotten. This is a big problem for sales reps and other customer-facing staff who may be used to calling the company on an employee’s home cell phone number. If a key salesperson leaves one company for another, customers may call a competitor instead.

How to make a BYOD policy work well?

For a BYOD deployment to work well, there are many things to think about. These three things can help you make a plan with clear goals.

First, figure out what the business and tech needs of end-user devices are right now. Find out what mobile apps employees need to help them do their jobs and what data they need to be able to access from their phones. Figure out which apps are essential, which ones give secure access to information, and which ones can be replaced with newer, cloud-based, or SaaS apps.

Next, decide if the BYOD and MDM software will be delivered through servers on-site, third-party services, or the cloud.

Lastly, write a BYOD policy that both company directors and employees can agree to, as was explained at the beginning of this article. By making a policy and having employees sign it, you can protect company data and applications while giving employees the freedom to use their own devices for both work and personal use.

Bottom Line

BYOD offers many benefits for employees and businesses, but there have been hitches, such as former employees suing their bosses for BYOD-related reasons. Employee privacy could be at risk if they utilise their own device to save the firm money on new technology. Many people ask if it’s worth it for a corporation to wipe an employee’s smartphone when they depart.

In the US, where BYOD originated, firms are also abandoning it. Workplaces may soon ban personal devices. Two counter-concepts provide employers additional data control: