The Latest on BYOD in Business

Bring your own device (BYOD) solutions have become commonplace within the enterprise, and there are no signs of things slowing down anytime soon. Despite common concerns about internal governance, security breaches, and device management, the pros of BYOD definitely outweigh the cons. For instance, a study from Sapho found that the average employee saves 81 minutes a week by simply bringing their own device to work.

From opportunities for better work/life management to reduced capital expenditure for businesses, BYOD has plenty to offer early adopters. The key to success, of course, is choosing the correct strategy for implementation.

What is BYOD?

As many IT experts struggle to keep up with today’s agile, digitally transforming enterprise, many have begun to empower the workforce through the “consumerisation” of IT. And this includes things like “bring your own technology” initiatives. As staff members continue to crave the biggest and best technology for their roles, BYOD is the difference between having to figure out how to use a company typewriter and being able to download your own preferred program through a SaaS model.

While BYOD was once the resource of office-based jobs, it's begun to creep into industries across the globe, including healthcare, manufacturing, and education. Click To Tweet

By its very nature, BYOD is flexible and designed for change–an important feature when the foundations of our current communication environments are continuing to shift.

While the current state of BYOD might not be perfect, emerging trends, innovation, and the right software are all helping businesses to move closer to an ideal work environment, one personal device at a time.

Why is now the time for BYOD?

While BYOD might not be an entirely new concept, we’re beginning to face an era when people are more ready to adopt this form of working. Ubiquitous operating systems, devices, and server-side processing architecture have made the adoption of BYOD easier. Cloud storage and SaaS models mean that it’s also cheaper to ensure internal governance.

From the perception of businesses, BYOD is quicker and more cost-effective, but it also means that they can attract the right talent to their teams. Many industries have begun to realise that the generation of tomorrow requires the latest technology, and delivering that on a Capex basis could be very expensive.

Millennials will make up 75% of the global workforce by the end of 2025, and Baby Boomers are retiring at a rate of 10,000 per day. The trend of catering to Gen Y’s preferences is set to increase, and BYOD could be the most cost-effective way to embrace changes in an OpEX fashion.

While the cost of BYOD has always been cheaper than launching enterprise-owned device networks, 2018 has launched a new era for cost-efficiency. Providers are more frequently offering BYOD services and support through the cloud, delivering the scalable solutions customers need instantaneously. The cloud also ensures that better data storage is available for both in-office and remote workers, allowing everyone to have access to the same software and space regardless of what their individual devices might allow.

Millennials will make up 75% of the global workforce by the end of 2025, and Baby Boomers are retiring at a rate of 10,000 per day. Click To Tweet

BYOD policies are also growing more robust today. As the methodology becomes more commonplace, organisations are learning from their mistakes, building a base of knowledge for security risks and tailoring policies accordingly. In the future, we may even have AI and machine-learning strategies that allow companies to uncover potential threats before they arise. 2018 is ushering in a state of BYOD that we could only dream of in the past.

Why Consider BYOD at all?

It’s easy to see that BYOD solutions are better than ever–but why should you be considering them for your business in the first place? The answers are numerous, from the cost-saving solutions that come with not having to invest in new hardware for your employees, to the ease of deployment that a cloud-based digital data centre can afford.

Some of the main benefits leading the way for BYOD technology include:

• Greater productivity: With BYOD devices, you don’t need to train your employees on how to use technology, because they’re already familiar with it. What’s more, numerous studies show that BYOD can lead to increased productivity because they’re more familiar with the layout and technology. 73% of executives claim that BYOD drastically increases efficiency in the workforce.
• Enhanced flexibility: The versatility that comes with keeping software in the cloud and allowing employees to use their own hardware is astronomical. Depending on the job role, it means that you can tap into all the benefits of remote working and ensure that every part of your workforce has access to the solutions they need regardless of where they are.
• Better employee retention: Not only does BYOD help companies to attract millennial talent to the workforce, but it also ensures that they’re more likely to stick around too, thanks to the promise of better wellbeing. A Samsung study found that 78% of workers feel using a single device helps them to maintain better work/life balance. The happier your staff members are at work, the more their quality of work grows.
• Minimal investment: Finally, many companies see the biggest boon of BYOD to be its cost-saving opportunity. Instead of investing in endless new agile technology, you simply upgrade your software on the cloud.

Ultimately, BYOD isn’t going anywhere. Today’s businesses simply need to device how to implement it in a way that suits their needs. With the right support, a strong set of software solutions, and a secure BYOD policy, you could access all of the benefits of a modern BYOD plan, without the potential negatives.

Originally published Mar 08, 2018, updated Jan 16, 2023