Back in 2012, I wrote a post Bring Your Own Device (BYOD): Is BYOD Bad for Your Company? based on the commonly available technology at the time. Now that nearly 6 years have passed, I’d say it is time for an update.
BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) is the allowance of employee-owned equipment onto company systems. Typically, this involves employees using consumer computing devices (such as iPads or Surface tablets) to get work done, either in the office, at home, or on the road. Many of these devices are not designed to “get work done,” but instead to consume content (e.g., checking email, reading news, social media, etc.). These devices are not managed and may lack even the most basic security features enabled. Here is the problem: If your BYOD strategy is not planned correctly, this can spell disaster for any corporate network. How is your company protecting its data on devices out of its control? What happens when an employee leaves the company or a device is accidentally left behind at a coffee shop?
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Few can argue that carrying a cell phone is very convenient for both us and the people trying to contact us. For many of us it is an absolute necessity to be reachable for at least part of the day regardless of whether you are in the office, home, or on the soccer field with the kids. For many years IT Pros have been forced to carry multiple devices. Some were personal devices (cell, iPod, etc…), while others were work related (work cell, PDA). Luckily, now there are some new technologies which allow us to consolidate to one or two mobile devices.