Recent reports suggest that approximately 70% of mobile employees have adopted BYOD as a manner of working – but what is it and why is it beneficial?
Defining BYOD
BYOD stands for ‘bring your own device’ and the concept behind it is simple. Employees are able to use their personal devices (laptops, mobiles, tablets) in the workplace and complete their daily tasks using them.
This is usually done by tethering the device to the internal server but if a business is utilising cloud computing then benefits and possibilities for both employer and employee are dramatically increased.
BYOD benefits
Separately, both BYOD and the Cloud are extremely useful tools, particularly for businesses. When combined they can provide even more benefits to users.
BYOD allows for a more flexible working pattern. Employees are more than able to complete tasks away from the office environment providing it is combined with a cloud computing service and this allows greater freedom, increasing morale, job satisfaction and productivity.
For employers, the fact that staff members can complete tasks away from the office means improved efficiency and greater profits. Associated expenditures can also be reduced as firms do not need to pay for expensive IT services or as many qualified IT technicians to maintain the systems.
Dell Cloud computing services have long been seen as market leaders in relation to the provision of a cloud platform and their new strategy of combining BYOD and the Cloud is something that will undoubtedly be popular with businesses for the benefits mentioned above.
They’ve also produced this infographic which defines and explains BYOD in more detail which is a great resource for those looking to learn more.
Overcoming the challenges of BYOD
Of course, as with all new systems of working there are challenges which need to be overcome when utilising BYOD at work. In the research mentioned above, BYOD was named as a “must” for many employees with 70% of mobile staff members adopting their firm’s BYOD policy and more than one third (35%) admitting that a company’s approach towards BYOD can affect their decision over whether to work with them.
Companies must therefore ensure their BYOD strategies are up to scratch – and that means addressing the challenges which it poses, particularly where security is concerned.
When businesses allow employees to bring their own devices into work and access the internal server then these concerns increase dramatically. Many office servers use virtual desktop infrastructure to provide security but there is still a risk of sensitive corporate information stored on a personal device falling into the wrong hands.
Using the Cloud can help remove this fear because no information or data is actually stored on a device. In order to access it, users must log into their cloud account and go through several security measures to retrieve the data. If a personal device was lost or stolen then no immediate security threats would be posed to data.