Employee-Owned Device Management without BYOD Programs
Not all organizations will be able to move forward immediately in establishing BYOD policies. So, how can you manage the influx of devices that employees bring into the workplace, without supporting them as their “official” work machines?
The Consumerization of IT
The consumerization of IT has made tech gadgets such as smart phones, iPads, tablets, netbooks and laptops accessible and approachable to the average consumer. As technology continues to become an integral part of all our daily lives, people are becoming more connected — often 24/7 — and are developing strong device preferences.
They want to use the devices they are most comfortable with for both personal and professional use, connect their smart phones with company email, and share assets across multiple devices.
On the organizational side, being open to employee-owned devices can also benefit the company as a whole. This is most significantly seen in an increase in employee productivity. In fact, an iPass survey of 1,100 mobile workers showed that “employees who use mobile devices for both work and personal issues put in 240 more hours per year than those who do not.”
How to Manage Employee Devices in the Workplace
It’s clear that this trend will only continue, and it will affect management, IT and end users alike. If you want to get a handle on employee-owned devices, but your organization isn’t ready to make the move to a BYO model, start by considering the responsibilities and policies needed to manage unsanctioned employee devices. For example:
- Understand the legal issues of hosting company data on personal devices, and make sure your employees have a basic understanding of the legal and security risks they take.
- Establish mobile-device policies, with the understanding that BYOD is common practice, and a reality of today’s world. Outdated, no-device-allowed policies won’t hold up for long. As IT continues to become more consumerized, your employees will expect to at least be able to synch work email with their personal smart phones.
- Develop employee contracts that clearly state what they are and are not allowed to access via personal devices. Include information on data ownership details and expected security precautions.
- Evaluate your wireless network’s performance and security, to ensure that it has the bandwidth to keep up with the increase in devices seeking wireless access.
- Continue to learn about BYOD policies and their benefits. This trend is one that appears to have long-term staying power due to its win-win nature for both employees and organizations.
- Start small. If virtualization capabilities are a concern, consider rolling out a test program for your most mobile employees, one division of the company, or a sampling of different user profiles.
To learn more about mobile-device management, see the following MCPc blog posts:
Or, to learn more about how your organization can start to empower its employees' use of mobile devices,
contact us today to speak to a Virtualization Architect.