by Sharon Jones

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Whether you are looking to reduce your outgoings, or increase your security measures, a BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) policy is something that can cause good and bad points in equal measure. In one respect, it's easy to see how much BYOD can benefit any business, because there's a lot of money being cut, and there can be a shorthand of sorts because employees are using their own devices to do their work. But is this really good for a company? Is BYOD going to be a help or a hindrance?

The Demand For BYOD

Because employees are increasingly working from a remote location, this naturally drives up the demand for BYOD policies. As the movement began where employees saw that their devices were better than the systems used in the workplace, it appeared to make logical sense to allow employees to use those devices. In addition to this, there are plenty of freelance workers that are expected to use their own devices. From the perspective of any company looking to trim the financial fat, BYOD is a no-brainer!

How BYOD Can Harm A Business

While there are numerous benefits to BYOD policies, not to mention increased productivity, as well as a personal experience, there can be a lot of security issues. From the technological perspective of any business, there can be security threats that can undermine, or even eradicate, an entire company. For example, employees may look to download applications that make them work faster, which from any employee's perspective, would appear to be common sense. Increased productivity means a better business, right? But, third-party applications provide so many issues, as well as highlight technical vulnerabilities that the business didn't even know it had, this results in an increase of cost to the employer so the business improves its security measures. What can be a source of good intention could unravel a business pretty quickly. Many employees are looking for an easy way to mix their business and personal lives. Because there are many employees that use their own devices, it's not fair for business leaders to tell them what they can and cannot put on their own personal items. As such, there can be a lot of personal apps that can wiggle their way into corporate networks.

What Is The Answer?

Because there is an abundance of issues that could occur when personal apps mix in with a corporate network, it's vital to implement a BYOD strategy. Because a personal device is being used in a working framework, it's important to nail this down early on. A policy highlights the importance of personal devices and what can (and cannot) be used within the context of the business. For many, the answer could be simple, just purchase work devices. But for those that aren't able to afford this, a combination of a security policy, in conjunction with a tightly monitored firewall, provides the answer.

Implementing The Steps

The first thing that needs doing is inspecting all devices. You have to ensure that a device is compliant by ensuring that your firewall is tightly controlled. This means that the employee has to have the appropriate security certificate on their device. While this is in conjunction with the appropriate network the vast majority of VPNs are tightly controlled, but it's always worth looking to see if the network is as comprehensive as possible. A lot of people look to increase their network visibility, which actually decreases security issues, rather than increase them. Because many businesses try to hide behind firewalls and VPNs, this can mean that the business is almost too secure. As such, it can be difficult for a BYOD policy to truly integrate within the network. But by having your IT department inspect all devices, this means a very secure vetting process, but also ensures that the device is compliant to the individual security policies of the business. At the same time, having a good old fashioned risk assessment means that the policy becomes a comprehensive one.

What Else Do We Need To Do?

In a technical sense, you could argue that this is all that's necessary. But what we need to remember is that it's not just the security measures we have in place, but it's the people using the devices. You know the drill, the condescending, or even downright rude IT specialist that has no time for seemingly insignificant queries, and ask the inevitable question, “have you switched it off and on again?” Instead, it's about bridging the gap between the employee and the IT specialist. In fact, the IT department can have more of a challenge on their hand in terms of monitoring the BYOD policies, this means that the employees need to be well schooled, but the IT department shouldn't be so condescending in their manner towards the employees. After all, it's about making the business function in a productive way. It's about having these policies in place so your employees know how to work, but also ensuring the communication channels are strong enough for these problems to be fixed should anything come up. This means that the IT staff needs access to the end user's device. Mobile Device Management software can help with this, not just so the problems are monitored closely, but also that the policies are being adhered to.

Does It Help Or Hinder A Business?

It's about security in conjunction with the financial. A BYOD policy is great on the surface because it helps saves the business money. If the security policy isn't comprehensive, does this mean that the business ends up paying more money further down the line, money could have easily been used for devices that had all the security measures intact? On the other hand, the processes can be performed quicker because an employee has access to their own device. Arguably, the one solution to this is workspace virtualization. Using hosted virtual desktops, this gives employees access into a virtual desktop that runs applications but its set within the business. BYOD can help and hinder a business, it depends on the avenue in which you approach it.