Last year, research firm Gartner heralded the bring-your-own-device, or BYOD, phenomenon as the most radical shift in enterprise client computing since the introduction of the PC. Many companies are adopting employee-owned mobile mobile device policies. People want convenience, they want access anywhere all the time. They want to get into their application very quickly and not feel like they have to open, set up a bulky laptop and find the Wi-Fi.
A recent Enterprise Strategy Group survey of enterprises and midmarket companies bears this out:
- 62 percent of enterprises and 40 percent of midmarket companies reported experiencing significant growth in employees’ use of alternative endpoint devices
- End-user demand for these devices emerged as the leading cause for this shift, with 75 percent of enterprises and 62 percent of midmarket companies citing it as a factor
- 56 percent of enterprises and 37 percent of midmarket companies report that most end users want to start using smartphones for work, more than any other device
There are big concerns that come with employees bringing their own devices to work. According to an article in eWEEK, “ BYOD can present major data protection and security issues for IT, especially because most organizations don’t have control over how employees are mixing and matching work devices and data with their other day-to-day activities. So, sensitive files are traveling outside the office, often without encryption or other simple security measures, leaving data exposed to theft, loss or corruption. This can be a nightmare for any industry, especially those that are under regulatory scrutiny, such as finance or health care.”
The good news is it is possible to have a secure BYOD program. Each device class and user type brings unique security challenges. To address them all, choosing the right IT company in Atlanta is important. It doesn’t matter what flavor of smartphone or tablet you have: if it’s used in the business and for the business, even partially, then we support it. Our support for these devices is included – at no additional charge – in our monthly service plans.
Our support of smartphones and tablets is all part of us working to keep things simple for our clients and making sure they experience Worry Free IT.
