Bring your own device (BYOD) policies were the cool new way to do business for the last few years. Instead of using company computers, phones, or tablets, employees were encouraged to bring their own devices from home, allowing them to streamline all of their tech usage.
It’s easy to see why management liked such policies – it cut costs and encouraged employees to take their work home with them, extending the workday by default. At the same time however, BYOD policies, especially when poorly managed, did tend to produce more security issues.
In 2016, it’s time to ditch the BYOD trend. In addition to security breaches, here are a few reasons why BYOD is waning in popularity.
Internal Upgrades
One of the most prominent reasons that BYOD practices entered the workplace was that employees not only owned their own devices, but their personal devices were often more up-to-date than company ones. Or, in the same vein, personal devices ran the preferred operating system – typically iOS – opposed to what the company was currently using.
Now, however, more companies are upgrading and making the shift to iOS, so employees no longer have a reason to use their own technology. This gives employers greater control over system compatibility and it also prevents employees from having to mentally switch between systems all day.
Data Protection Practices
BYOD policies not only ran a risk of data breaches when employees inadequately protected their personal systems, but they also made it more difficult for companies to maintain files when employees changed companies or even changed roles within the same company. Without proper vigilance, BYOD policies led to former employees walking off with company data still in their possession. Companies now recognize this risk and know that it’s too dangerous of an issue, especially for companies regulated by HIPAA, FERPA, and other privacy regulations.
Continued Costs
Although BYOD seems like it would dramatically cut company costs by preventing the need to buy large amounts of hardware, several years of BYOD practice has revealed that this isn’t the case. Rather, BYOD is full of both hidden costs and IT problems that can strain a company’s budget just as far.
In order for employees to use their own devices, they still needed to be issued the correct software, security breaches proved costly, and IT departments logged longer hours trying to get an array of devices in line with each other. The costs BYOD had promised to cut simply rose up in other corners of the budget.
After BYOD: What Comes Next?
If companies are going to ditch BYOD policies in 2016, how will the budget make the swap back to proprietary devices? The transition will likely be gradual and some companies will likely find ways to blend the two policies, particularly when it comes to devices like smart phones. Shared laptops, however, will likely become a thing of the past in short order.
Post-BYOD we will likely see a rise in company security practices. There were a lot of high profile data breaches in 2015 and that likely will influence this shift for many companies. Many who are transitioning out of this policy will also look towards the EU where BYOD never caught on. By mirroring European companies’ standard practices, we’ll see American companies phase out BYOD as the year goes on.
from Darlene Milligan http://ift.tt/1KWVwES via transformational marketing
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