The traditional conference room comes equipped with all the necessities your employees need to have successful meetings. However, with the rise of personal devices, there is another solution available that enhances flexibility, security and lowers cost. BYOD, or bring your own device, is a company policy where employees bring their technology (smart mobile devices, laptops, and tablets) to work with the intent of utilizing them alone or in conjunction with company-supplied devices. BYOD has numerous positive benefits and improves employee productivity, and customer satisfaction.
Flexibility
The devices in the conference room stay in the conference room, but this isn’t the case with a BYOD policy. BYOD yields enormous benefits when it comes to productivity, flexibility, agility, and efficiency. A BYOD policy allows employees to access their work from anywhere. They are no longer restricted to the confines of a conference room and can handle tasks from anywhere in or outside of the office. This enhanced flexibility encourages employees to work on-the-go which boosts overall productivity and being able to share information seamlessly between employees increases efficiency and agility.
Security
In a traditional conference room setting, many employees utilize the same devices which presents a security risk. Employees often forget to delete sensitive files and to log out of their account which provides easy access to restricted information. Unauthorized users having access leads to office disruptions, and legal trouble can arise. BYOD addresses this risk because devices aren’t shared or left in the office. However, adopting a BYOD policy means new security measures need to be put in place to handle the enhanced mobile infrastructure. For example, options to lock and factory reset in order to manage lost or stolen devices.
Cost
It’s easy to see how overhead cost is impacted by BYOD. Permitting employees to utilize their own devices means less equipment is purchased. But that isn’t the only place where a change in finances occurs. According to a Symantec 2013 State of Mobility Survey, businesses who permitted mobile use saw an increase in revenue and profit growth in comparison to traditional organizations. In short, BYOD both saves and makes organizations money.
Although a BYOD policy comes with its own set of risks, many feel the risks are worth the rewards, and by tackling potential problems before or during early implementation, many can be mitigated!
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