Half of Companies Will Require BYOD By 2017

[n64ra]

I found this rather interesting.
Is a computing devices a tool that an employer should provide like a desk in an office? Or are they so common employees should have to provide them like (non-uniform) clothes worn in an office?

The Link

 

[Seattle Husker]

I work for a wireless Telco and this is a much talked about topic. We have a rather ambiguous BYOD policy internally. Up until recently we offered stiff discounts (or free devices for long tenured employees). The cost of this program was in the $10's of millions for a 40k employee company. They recently eliminated this benefit to cut costs.

There are a plethora of tools out there that allow companies to control/delete portions or data on your device. Personally, I don't want to have to carry 2 phones. I like being able to combine my personal and work life into a single device.

 

[n64ra]

I do my work on a PC. With a lot of typing, I need a keyboard. If my employer forced me to provide the laptop, I'd be rather peeved. There's no way I could do it on a phone or tablet.

 

[Seattle Husker]

I've never seen BYOD in reference to laptops/desktops. Typically it's been about smartphones and lately tablets. Devices that are more ubiquitous to our lifestyle that the average white collar worker will carry to support their own personal life. Companies are simply looking to leverage consumer habits to supplement their own budgets.

Now, can they require you to supply your own mobile device? That's doubtful but in a work culture that demands you are connected 24/7 you'll find promotions/raises more challenging without adopting the company culture.

With the movement of typical IT Systems to the cloud access to them is becoming easier and easier removing the need for problematic technologies like VPN that require more IT support. In areas where IT support is required they need to "own" the ecosystem.

 

[Roger]

if as Husker stated this about smart phones and tablets, this will be very soon that companies are going to expect you to provide your own. My current company a couple of months ago announced a phase out where by they will let the contracts run their course and then you can take over the number. The company will give each employee who is deemed to require a phone $50 per month to defray their costs. This is a cost cutting measure that the company will see nothing but benefits as almost no one will/would quit over this.

 

[DFWAg]

So penny-wise and pound foolish.

This all sounds so smart to managers in the late innings of a corporate earning cycle in which all the easy inefficiencies are worked out and you still can't sell and the relatively painful job market means employees are facing a buyers market.

Things turn and suddenly the relatively minuscule cost in the grand scheme of things of providing a laptop of mobile phone will seem like smart retention behavior.

Also, the implications for this in terms of information security are pretty big.

 

[Seattle Husker]

DFWAg- I agree with much of your statements.

In reply to:

---

---

 

[BrntOrngStmpeDe]

Who controls the device and the data on it are critical questions? If you lose the device, can the company come in and wipe the whole thing to protect their data/access? I think people will end up going back to carrying two devices to keep the company from doing this and to maintain some sense of privacy. If they do go to two devices then they'll resent having to pay for the company device.

Not to mention the poor IT folks that are going to have to manage all these different OS's, devices and such.

 

[DFWAg]

I wish I was a two device guy.

Both my parent's passed not too long ago and I found myself doing a lot of very sensitive information sharing relying on a corporate blackberry and sometime my work computer. It creeped me out.

So now I am a five device guy. I have a corporate blackberry, personal Samsung Galaxy S3, a Kindle Fire, a personal PC and my work laptop. Oh, and I just use snail mail and landline conversations. Being on the grid at all means you have little security.

 

[n64ra]

I realize current BYOD conversation is about tablets and phones, but I suspect it can include laptops in the near future. If an executive is presented with the cost saving measure of requiring employees to bring laptops, I can see why the executive would push for it. My employer provides a laptop or desktop to each employee. They recently cut out providing monitors. Guess how many new employees select a desktop?

Alternatively, I can imagine tablets becoming more functional and laptops dying out. With no laptops and BYOD tablets, how does one work?

 

[Seattle Husker]

The more proprietary information, company purchased applications and company supported hardware the less IT will be willing to support BYOD. Depending on how you are using laptops (cloud apps vs. device apps) this could be easy or hard.

 

[Ag with kids]

My company just instituted a BYOD program and I was about to sign up until I read the fine print...turns out you have to follow ALL company IT and computer policies on the device or you're subject to the same penalties you could receive if you used a company computer. So, if you surf iPhone porn or go to other unapproved sites using your OWN phone, you could be subject to termination...

I politely declined...