The good and bad of BYOD (Bring your own device) in business

BYOD or Bring Your Own Device this is the latest trend and still an ongoing debate in the business world. Why BYOD is now becoming a real deal on both the employees and business owners?

In this article, let us share with you the advantages and disadvantages of BYOD.

The advantages:

1. Flexibility in business

Allowing the BYOD in your business brings flexibility in terms of hardware needs. For startup business the idea of BYOD allows the business to operate even without prioritizing the employees’ equipment since they can bring their own device. It is cost-effective as well as the business need not invest in their employees’ devices.

2. Flexibility in employees

The best thing about BYOD is that employees’ flexibility. Since they can bring their own device this also means that they can do their work anytime and anywhere which increases productivity. If employees have their devices on hand whatever the situation is, they can always get to work as long as they have the tools and systems they need on their devices.

3. Familiarity

Most employees tend to work efficiently if they are comfortable and familiar with the device they are using. If the company allows BYOD, the employees can bring their most effective and quality devices to perform their task and it would be a lot easier for them to workaround on their device.

The Disadvantages:

1. Security

This might be the first on the line when the business supports BYOD. With the growing number of cyberthreats, security should always come first. Allowing the employees to bring their own device with their personal apps or software in it might be a big risk to business security. Businesses should take extra security measures when it comes to BYOD. They are responsible for installing security software such as antivirus to their employees’ devices.

2. Distractions

Your employees have their personal apps, games and/or software installed on their devices and these things can cause a distraction to your employees during work hours. For example, the temptation to play their games or browse their social media pages as they are using their own device. This is a big NO-NO, especially during office hours.

3. Employee monitoring

Using the BYOD system it may be impossible for the company to track what their employees are doing – they might be downloading apps, patches, opening malicious websites or clicking on malicious attachments or links. These activities can invite viruses or other cyber threats. If you are going to allow BYOD in your business, you have to think of how to protect and secure your business and your business’ data. Installing a multi-layers cybersecurity system can defeat these threats.

SUMMARY:

After presenting the advantages and disadvantages of BYOD, we still believe that whatever will work better for the business must be the one to prioritize. In every situation, there’s always a good and bad result. You just have to take precautionary measures and anticipate the negative effect. Doing what is best for both employees and businesses should be always on top of the consideration to make the working relationship benefit everyone.

Jackson Technologies provides a different type of computer service – from installation to repair and from simple computer management to deploying network security to your business.

For any questions or to get a free service quote, feel free to call us at (412) 853-3708 or email us at [email protected] for immediate assistance.

Jackson Technologies –- “Your total outsourced I.T. solution”

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