Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) is the latest business revolution. BYOD applies to employees bringing their personally-owned mobile devices, such as smart phones, tablets and laptops, into the workplace, using them to access privileged company information, programs and applications. This article describes the risks and advantages and how your organization should handle it.

1. I D E A S T O H E L P
G R O W Y O U R
B U S I N E S S
©Copyright2013.CBIZ,Inc.NYSEListed:CBZ.Allrightsreserved.
Y
our business is experiencing a revolution and you
may not be aware. Even if you are aware, you may be
underestimating its scope and long-term effects on
your business and bottom line.
Spawned from cloud computing, this revolution is “Bring
Your Own Device” (BYOD).
BYOD applies to employees bringing their personally-
owned mobile devices, such as smart phones, tablets and
laptops, into the workplace, using them to access privileged
company information, programs and applications.
According to Massachusetts-based technology
information and consulting firm Forrester, among North
American and European information workers, 70% of tablets,
67% of smart phones and 46% of laptops used in their
work are personally-chosen devices. That is, employees buy
whatever device they want and use it for work.
Forrester reports that, because of this growing
trend, 60% of companies in North America and Europe
are developing BYOD programs to integrate and support
employee-owned devices.
Should you embrace a BYOD program in your business?
Here are a few things to consider:
Risks
• Security. Keeping sensitive and confidential information
secure is not a small endeavor. Increasing access
requires increasing security. And, what happens to
a personal device that’s lost or stolen? There are
solutions, but they must be in place from the get-go.
• When a business issues a device, it can set the terms of
use as to what internet content can be accessed and so
forth. This is not so much the case with an employee’s
personal device, leaving it more open to viruses.
• Not every personal device can be integrated.
Technologies are so numerous and fractured that
one Android-based smart phone, for example, can be
integrated and another cannot.
• In sales- and service-based businesses it is possible
customers have employees’ personal phone numbers.
If the employee separates from your company, those
customers may be lost.
• Your IT department may find itself spending valuable
time addressing non-business-related issues as
employees try to avoid contacting a device’s help center
for routine troubleshooting.
Obviously, plenty can go wrong; however, for many
businesses there are significant advantages to be had.
Advantages
• Reduced hardware expenses. Device costs are shifted
from your business to the employee. Even if your
company subsidizes the device’s original cost, the
employee is responsible if it’s lost, stolen or needs
repairs. Your business doesn’t need to maintain
replacement inventory or parts.
• Your IT department will still be busy; however, it should
be less so, meaning some IT resources can be allocated
to other areas.
• Increased productivity. Not only do people work more
efficiently on devices with which they are familiar;
they also have the ability to work on a more flexible
timetable. Using personal devices will also reduce the
learning curve of new hires.
• Because new technologies historically reach consumers
before being accepted by businesses (the iPad, for
example) technological advances will be introduced into
the workplace more quickly.
The Reality
In reality, depending on the size of your organization, you
may already have dozens or thousands of employee devices
accessing company information. As a result, sooner or later,
your business will probably have to deal with BYOD, if it
hasn’t already.
Your business and bottom line will be better served if
you proceed in an organized way. However, don’t be blinded
by the promise of cost savings from workers providing their
own devices. Without proper planning and the appropriate
policies in place, the potential risks outweigh the potential
benefits.
our business is growing yours
Management Performance
BYOD: The Latest Business Revolution
Article reprinted from Summer 2013GROWTHBIZS T R A T E G I E S
ROBERT CINI
CBIZ MHM, LLC • Boca Raton, FL
561.922.6099 • rcini@cbiz.com