BYOD: Boon or bane for enterprises?

BYOD … is the most used word you can find in articles and tech journals. Why BYOD has become the buzz word?  Let us take a look into the underlying merits and demerits of BYOD. By the end of 2012, Gartner has predicted that there will be 515 Million smartphones and 131 Million Tablets would have been sold worldwide. The market for the mobile devices only keeps growing and it becomes imperative for organizations to equip with right armor. Highlights of BYOD:
  • 62% of customers surveyed cite current or near term BYOD projects - Gartner
  • Mobile devices help enterprises to maintain consistent productivity
  • Benefits such as saving costs makes it lucrative for enterprise
  • Employees are able to manage devices themselves to a certain extent (since users upgrade to latest smart phones technology makes it possible to manage device) reduces time for IT staff in device management
Out of all the benefits, enterprises tend to agree on one common point - introducing BYOD can help in curbing costs. Since, organizations don’t need to invest money on hardware and software, BYOD helps reduce operational costs. Although we can see lot of good points about BYOD, there are some caution points, which call for a deep analysis by enterprises:
  • IT staff needs to equip with the technical knowledge of the various mobile vendors. Since, they will be managing the devices from enrollment to securing the device.
  • When it comes to user BYOD polices it interferes with the user personal space. Employees don’t like their devices being controlled by the third party. It may restrict users from performing any modifications to their device.
  • Above all SECURITY is the concern that highlights in enterprise. Since the company’s data resides in the employee’s pocket, Organizations will be restless because data leakage can put company at risk. On the other hand when the employee leaves the company, retiring corporate data can be problematic.
Then why BYOD trend is on the rise? In spite of all these obstacles still majority of the organizations are saying “YES” to BYOD. The most important reason is seamless productivity and cost savings. Although factors like security are causing worries, options like data wipe provides a plausible solution. Utilizing mobile trend will be an opportunity for enterprises. Organizations may not able to control the user behavior; luckily they can do that with devices. This helps organizations to say Yes to BYOD. In the past we have seen changing trend - computer to laptops, now it is for Mobile devices. Enterprise can see fruitful results employing BYOD, only if they can lay out minimum security requirements or mandate company-polices and security tools as a condition for allowing personal devices to connect to company data. For details on Desktop Central Mobile Device Management visit:http://www.manageengine.com/products/desktop-central/mobile-device-management-mdm.html