BYOD is a trend that has been taking hold for many companies. The challenge of all the different smart phones and tablets out there can overwhelm a company when deciding which one to support. These issues are further compounded by personal preferences for an iPhone, Galaxy, or any of the other devices they already own/like. The answer is to just give in and let them Bring Your Own Device.
A policy like this solves a few problems:
- The Company doesn’t own the hardware
- IT doesn’t have to support the device they bring
- Old devises don’t stack up in the closet becoming completely useless
- Employees are happier with the device they like
- Employees don’t need to carry two phones
This sounds like a perfect solution, right? Everybody wins. The problems created include:
- Security
- Policy creation and management
- Keeping non-owned hardware/software current
- And many others.
The BYOD conversation is substantially bigger than this blog post could ever cover. However, I will attempt to create some connections to all the research I have conducted.
The SANS Institute has produced a great white paper about 40 pages deep. It is a long read, but a great overview of all the issues.
Another report from The SANS Institute is their SANS Survey on Mobility /BYOD, Security Policies and Procedures.
The four worst mistakes you can make with a BYOD policy from the Tech Republic blog on 2/11/13 can be summarized with:
- Limiting devices by specific models
- Excluding the right to wipe the device
- Allowing opt out of critical updates
- Allowing opt out of corporate data management policies
Additional BYOD resources
- Learn BYOD policy best practices from templates (Tech Republic)
- BYOD and the Consumerization of IT (TechRepublic and ZDNet special feature)
- The Executive’s Guide to BYOD and the Consumerization of IT (TechRepublic)
- Three BYOD policies for keeping workers (and IT) happy (TechRepublic)
- How to Create a Cost-Effective BYOD Policy (CMS Newswire)
This all looks overwhelming, but it is coming to an employee near you soon. I encourage you to understand and control it for your company.