BYOD
Communications and Asset Management
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The Rise and Evolution of BYOD
By Spencer Bradshaw, Manager of Advanced Applications and Solution Architects EMEA, ShoreTel
Introduction
Spencer Bradshaw
tackles the challenges
of implementing a
BYOD policy.
With 70 per cent of mobile professionals
likely to conduct their work on personal
smart devices by 2018 (source: Gartner),
more and more enterprises are encouraging a bring your own device (BYOD)
policy. Put simply, BYOD lets people
use the mobile devices that they love in
the enterprise environment. Employees
can use their smartphones and tablets,
whether company- or personally-owned,
from any location and on any network,
and get a full suite of mobile unified
communications (UC) tools. But before
unleashing the power of BYOD, it’s
essential to understand and address any
risks, especially around asset management. To do this, we need to take a look
at the challenges every business faces
when they implement a BYOD policy.
Implementing BYOD
BYOD has the benefit of an employee
using a device they have chosen and are
comfortable with. However, it does not
shift the responsibility of securing and
managing mobile applications, data, and
user access. Employees’ smartphones
and tablets, whether company- or
personally-owned, may contain sensitive
information, emails, documents and
customer names, as well as access
BYOD lets people use the mobile devices that they love in the
enterprise environment.
34 NETCOMMS europe Volume V Issue 5 2015
information stored in a public or private
cloud. It’s critical to understand the
organisation’s requirements for data
protection, especially in regulated
environments where there may be
compliance requirements. Employees
should be counselled to use common
sense when using their personal
smartphones and tablets for work, but it
shouldn’t be left to them to adequately
secure their devices. Strong passcodes
should be an obligatory part of any
policy, as should antivirus protection.
You should also encrypt data that is
stored on the mobile devices as well as
data as it is transmitted over the wireless
or cellular network. If the device is lost
or stolen and someone does manage to
break the password, then encryption will
be welcome protection. Mobile device
management (MDM) software can also
enable an employer to manage their
employees’ mobile devices and offers
the ability to remotely lock or wipe lost
or stolen mobile devices. An MDM
solution makes it easier to manage large
numbers of mobile devices, since they
typically allow applications, data, and
configurations to be distributed over the
air. Using MDM can reduce support
costs and lower business risks.
BYOA
Another buzzword that is doing the
rounds is BYOA (bring your own
application) – those who bring their
own device will also want to kit it
out with their applications of choice.
However, bad application management
can be the downfall of any BYOD
policy. What applications does an
employee really need access to? And are
the installed apps of a decent quality?
Mobile malware is on the rise, and
poorly developed apps can also pose a
threat. There is no guarantee that any
app, even those from app stores, has
been vetted for inappropriate content or
malware, so employers should always be
vigilant about what gets loaded onto a
device that contains important content.
Business needs are different from
personal needs, so when it comes to
which device to buy, enterprises need
to think smart. Many enterprises are
now opting for corporately owned,
personally enabled (COPE) devices
for their employees, which means they
will have a greater degree of control
over the device chosen for work. If
the enterprises do opt for COPE, they
would benefit from being longsighted in
their approach to the devices themselves.
According to analyst firm IDC, tablet
shipments in Europe will reach 11m by
2019, a big step away from the laptop
boom of the noughties. The way people
work is changing. For example, tablets
are in vogue today, but the recent release
of the Apple Watch has left many
wondering if the future workplace will
revolve around the wrist. Enterprises
need to be ready for change to keep
their businesses at the cutting edge of
the evolving mobile workplace.
Conclusion
Consumer technology products are
feted for their ease of use. Ubiquity
and trendiness are also seen to be very
important, but there’s no point in getting
an iPhone because it ‘looks cool’ if it
doesn’t function in the way it needs to
in your daily working life. This means
that enterprises need to clearly set out a
policy for individual roles that ensures
the right kind of device is chosen, no
matter the brand. Price is, of course,
a major factor in any decision, but
there are hidden expenses factored into
mobile devices that no one may have
anticipated, for example, international
roaming. A top tip here is to ensure each
member of staff has their mobility needs
assessed on an individual basis before
being inducted into a company’s BYOD
policy. Finally, enterprises must to take
into consideration what percentage
of the workforce are fixed and what
percentage are mobile, and also predict
how this is likely to change over the next
five years. This mea