Many companies are working to implement new Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) programs in their organizations. The benefits are many, from increased productivity and satisfaction from employees to lower costs for businesses. With BYOD, however, comes notable concerns and potential pitfalls that some companies have already experienced. Take a look at the infographic below for several examples of disasters that are possible with a new BYOD program.
Many companies are working to implement new Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) programs in their organizations. The benefits are many, from increased productivity and satisfaction from employees to lower costs for businesses. With BYOD, however, comes notable concerns and potential pitfalls that some companies have already experienced. Take a look at the infographic below for several examples of disasters that are possible with a new BYOD program.
Cost and Productivity
One idea behind BYOD is that it saves businesses money in the long run. However, a poorly implemented BYOD program could actually end up costing employers more than anticipated. Sometimes workers will charge the business for overly expensive data plans or they’ll make the company pay for upgrading equipment. Mobile carriers may also charge for phones that the company believes to be turned off. Productivity can sometimes take a hit as well. When workers have access to their own apps, they may end up spending more time on games or social media. Businesses may respond by blocking certain apps, but this has the potential to lead to conflict.
Legal Issues
A well thought-out BYOD program will take into account the many different regulations that govern privacy issues involving mobile devices. A program that fails to address these issues might be in for some trouble down the road. BYOD programs that aren’t kept up to date with current regulations may end up breaking the law. Privacy is always a serious issue with BYOD, especially since employees are using personal devices to access company information. Companies may wish to exert greater control over devices, but if policies go too far, they may end up infringing on employees’ rights, opening the company up to lawsuits. This should come as little surprise since surveys show most employees don’t completely trust their employer to keep their personal information private. BYOD also tends to blur the line between an employee’s work and personal life. If hourly employees end up working outside of office hours on their personal devices and overtime pay is not specifically addressed in BYOD policy, more lawsuits could result.
Security and Data Concerns
Securing valuable business data should be a high priority for any company implementing a BYOD program. For those that neglect this important issue, they could end up facing much bigger problems. Data is often at risk of being lost or stolen under some BYOD policies. Many companies use cloud storage, which places the data out of the company’s hands. Devices that are lost and go unreported are also prone to losing data. Another major concern deals with the higher risk of viruses and hackings. Since employees bring in their own devices, some devices may not be secure enough, opening up the possibility for the spread of a virus or for hackers to acquire secure company information.
Businesses need to know how to handle these problems before a BYOD program is made a reality. With proper preparation, many of these challenges will either fail to materialize or will prove easy to overcome. The key is knowing how to address the issues ahead of time. For more of the latest technology news, check out Tech Page One.