Balancing BYOD Benefits & Risks

In our fast paced world, so much of our time is spent in front of a screen. Many companies have tried to buffer this fact by introducing BYOD practices. BYOD stands for "Bring Your Own Device" and is a practice that has been gaining a lot of traction in recent days. Of course employees love their smartphone, tablet, laptop and other electronic devices. So if they need to be working, why wouldn't they want to do it on their own device? Still, BYOD policies offer many risks, as well as benefits to the employer. If you have been considering implementing these policies you may have some lingering questions. Here is a VoIP comparison for BYOD practices at your business.

BYOD Benefits:

Associative: People have a definite emotional attachment to their personal electronic devices, especially their smartphones. Being able to afford your associates that comfort is a positive thing for their ability to be productive and happy while doing so.

Bonus Time: Their attachment to their personal devices also makes your workers a lot more likely to go "above and beyond" so to speak, by way that they will always be working. If they get a work-related message, email, or phone call and they see it on their personal device, even if they don't "act" on it straight away, this new information will be in the back of their minds and they will be prepared to act as soon as they begin work. This bonus "off the clock" time that you will have your employees attention can be a great thing for getting them focused on the tasks at hand.

BYOD Pitfalls:

Over-Attachment: Even with all these benefits for the BYOD practices of your employees, there are pitfalls. Perhaps the biggest of these being that these are your employees personal devices; so the fact that they conduct all their private business on these same devices means that your work may just become another "thing" that they "do." You want your employees to have the same reverence for their tasks for your job on their devices as they would on some of your hardware. This over-attachment to their devices, their routines, their friends, and their own personal lives could be one of the bigger reasons not to implement a BYOD policy.

Security: When surmising a VoIP comparison to the benefits and pitfalls of a BYOD policy for your business, your own companies personal security is probably the biggest concern you should have. When you have proprietary software or customer or product data streaming over the personal devices of your employees, you are putting yourself and your business at risk.

In the end, a BYOD policy may be a good thing for your business. Be aware, however, that your information may be so sensitive that you need to supply all devices which carry it. If you do implement BYOD you should have protocol in place, you should have reclamation rights for your information, and you need the best security on these outside devices!

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