The bring-your-own-device (BYOD) movement ignited the mobile revolution, as people flocked to using their personal smartphones and tablets to access business applications and information. The convenience of being able to work from anywhere, any place and at any time is indisputable, as is carrying fewer mobile devices. Companies jumped on the BYOD bandwagon, lured by the promise of cost savings. But now there’s a new way to achieve the delicate balance between choice and control: CYOD, or “choose your own device.”
As organizations gain more experience with BYOD, many are taking a hard second look. Concerns over security and cost are rising. Securing employee-owned devices can be much more difficult than when IT has total control, and that can lead to security breaches and compliance gaps. In fact, it is predicted that employee-owned devices will be compromised by malware at more than double the rate of corporate-owned devices.
Cost is another issue. While BYOD saves companies the capital cost of buying smartphones or tablets for workers, many are surprised by the jump in operational expenses. Many companies use monthly expense reports to reimburse employees for the work-related mobile device usage, and the overhead of managing more expenses can add up. Plus, most companies negotiate better pricing for service plans than with individual plans, so companies are paying service providers more per minute and per megabit.
More companies are moving toward BYOD policies to govern acceptable usage of personal smartphones and tablets for business purposes. Most of these policies allow the company to delete personal photos, contacts and other information from the phone or tablet if the phone is lost or stolen – or if the password is entered incorrectly too many times. But that self-destruct feature doesn’t know the difference between your kid trying to guess your password to play Plants vs. Zombies—or the criminal who has stolen your phone.
CYOD is another path. It balances the freedom that users want—the ability to have a cool smartphone or tablet—with the IT department managing security. Employees feel like there’s a choice, and IT isn’t overwhelmed managing too many mobile platforms.
In the CYOD approach, the company buys the mobile devices, installs the apps and ensures that the security protections meet corporate policy and regulatory requirements. IT can ensure that the mobile devices run (E)nterprise (M)obility (M)anagement software that protects the applications and data as well as the device itself. Support is simplified as well, because the IT staff is trained and knowledgeable about the approved platforms.
