The popularity of Bring Your Own Device or BYOD is rising and slowing making this concept, the most essential component of any business. It has become so popular that Oxford had to include this word in its English dictionary as a new word for 2013. Moreover, a recent report released by Forrester reveals that more than 50 percent of American and European entrepreneurs are either having this concept or planning to adopt it in their business functions. This clears that we are well beyond the tipping point of this culture.
But despite these encouraging facts, a huge number of business owners are still unsure about it. They often have questions and wide differences in opinions when it comes to BYOD adoption. Some believe that BYOD is all about controlling the activities of employees' personal devices in the office and some take it as an effective means of cost cutting. Because of this confusion in the minds of business owners, I decided to write this post to explore different aspects of BYOD and challenges faced by business owners in its implementation.
Starting from the scratch
Before you could even think of implementing BYOD at your workplace, the first step would be to devise a policy and a set of rules to govern this program. A well-planned policy consists of rules for data transfer, server access, devices, and applications as well the users. It would clearly define the actions authorized and unauthorized by an organization. Experts say that an effective BYOD strategy should be a perfect balance of the rights of the company and the employees. Even I feel that those who enter into the pool of BYOD without prior planning or policy implementation often face a number of issues and implementation failure. There are a number of factors to be considered and a number of decisions to be taken bringing your BYOD policy into effect. Let us have a look.
• Liability – The first point is about liability. Business owners need to see whether to allow employees to use their own devices or give them corporate owned devices.
• Reimbursement – The second most important aspect is about reimbursement. As an entrepreneur, you will have to see who will bear the expenses of their mobile connection and Internet connection. This is important, as employees will use their devices for professional purposes.
• Security – This is perhaps the most important factor to mull upon. Since, employees would be able to access corporate servers through their personal devices, security issues would rise for sure. Business owners will have to look for ways to mitigate the risks arising from the arrival of BYOD program.
• Acceptability – Business owners will also have to see the obligations for end users. They will have to decide whether to vary it based on their role in the organization or keep it even for everyone.
• Policy violations – Business owners will also have to see how to tackle those found breaching the terms and conditions. Moreover, they will also have to make sure that every employee using his personal device is accepting and working under the jurisdiction of the laws enforced by you.
• Support – It is not that after allowing BYOD, you are relieved from your responsibilities. You will have to see that every BYOD device works perfectly to maintain company's productivity. For this, you will have to give them technical assistance and also determine the type and level of assistance; you would give to your BYOD employees.
It is only after determining these and a number of other issues that you could get assured that your BYOD program is functioning efficiently and helping the company speed up its movement towards increased revenue.
The author works as an iPad apps development consultant in one of the best app development companies based in Dallas, Texas. It also holds a good reputation as an android application development company.
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