BYOD. It's a four letter acronym technology executives are very familiar with, and it stands for bring-your-own-device. In a nutshell, it happens when businesses allow employees to use their personal gadgets like iPads or iPhones to handle work-related job functions. However, it also means allowing devices that are not managed completely by your IT department to have access to important information, connect to the company network and routinely leave the premises.
Companies of all sizes are now finding themselves asking the question, is a BYOD policy right for me? The answer varies. For larger companies that have the budgets to provide these mobile devices or have a state-of-the-art security and information management solution in place, there may not be much thought put into it. But if you are a small company with limited resources, BYOD can be a great way to use the latest technology in the office and take operations to the next level.
These companies must now focus on strengthening their networks and managing the devices, even with the challenges they provide.
"The ability to manage the different devices available on the market can be a headache for any business, big or small," a Wired article reads. "Keeping that in mind, it is important to make sure that the security solution chosen has the ability to handle many different devices and open source platforms, and can be integrated with current security packages already in use."
To ease the struggle, businesses should partner with an IT consulting firm that specializes in integrating employees' mobile devices into the company workflow.
