BYOD: Friend or foe?

Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) is one of the hottest topics on the enterprise agenda right now. The idea of allowing employees to have a greater say in what tech they use is fraught with complexities and uncertainties.

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On the face of it, the idea of letting employees bring their own devices into the workplace seems mightily attractive. In these times of austerity and financial doom and gloom, it means you can use budget previously earmarked for IT equipment on something else worthy and bottom line-friendly.

Doing something simply because everyone else is doing it has never been and never will be the right answer when it comes to IT and business strategy.

If only it were that simple. You can't just declare next week is Take your own device into work' week, in much the same way as you may have had Take your pet to school' or Non uniform' days when you were younger. Life as a grown-up, specifically as a business or IT decision maker, is much more complex.

There are security, tax, budgetary and insurance implications to be considered. Add to that consideration melting pot data ownership, confidentiality, authentication and access in addition to the management/support headache and the awkward questions that arise when someone leaves employment yet wants to take their own device with them, and you've got some serious answers to find.

Many are heralding BYOD as the future for everyone. Others are cautioning against simply jumping on the bandwagon without first assessing what BYOD means and could mean to your organisation and the best way of matching that theory with reality. Doing something simply because everyone else is doing it has never been and never will be the right answer when it comes to IT and business strategy.

We know you want to generate increased revenue and results. You also want, as much as possible - without necessarily having to give them 400 per cent pay rises and tripling their annual leave allowance to ensure employees are happy and contented at work. BYOD offers the potential to do just that a win/win situation for both employees and employer (and the IT/finance departments). But only if done for the right reasons, at the right time and with the right mindset.