With vaccinations rolling out, we all hope our lives can improve dramatically in 2021. Maybe we can expect some people returning to the office at least part time.

Some of us will be ready, some of us will not be. But organizations need to prepare for the inevitable.

BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) will most likely continue to grow in popularity during the next few years. Working from home will most likely have a lasting impact on the way we work. Many employees will be using their own devices as a part of their personal workflow. Sometimes it’s just more comfortable to work on the devices that we know. Even accessing Microsoft 365, or conveniently joining a Zoom meeting from a Tablet. This gives employees a range of benefits like flexibility, collaboration, and even increased productivity up to 34% in some cases.

It can benefit many organizations from allowing their employees to seamlessly connect to their networks to share content, collaborate and communicate quickly on devices they are comfortable using. Not to mention shedding the cost of providing devices for all your employees, and constantly keeping them up-to-date and chasing the never-ending battle of obsolete technology.

They also provide the great benefit of just plug-in and present.

However, half of organizations do not have a formal BYOD policy for security. And there are several security concerns when it comes to BYOD.

BYOD in perspective

Employee Use:

82% of companies let employees use personal devices for work

90% of U.S employees use their own smartphones at work

70% of employees use company-issued tablets to download personal apps

Data-Breaches:

40% of large data breaches were caused by lost or stolen devices

50% of companies that allowed BYOD were breached via employee-owned devices

60% of companies do not remove data from their ex-employees’ devices

Define a BYOD Security Policy

The first step to combat security breaches is to develop a BYOD policy. Start by outlining basic elements of personal device usage.

Consideration 1: Clearly define what is acceptable and unacceptable use for your organization.

Consideration 3: Set a security control standard for devices (i.e password protected access, who has network access, guess access etc.)

Consideration 4: Company provided components like SSL certificates for authorizing devices

Consideration 5: The rights the company has for altering devices being used, such as remote wiping for lost or stolen devices with company data.

BYOD can offer fantastic benefits, and user experience for employees onsite. Especially while collaborating! But do make sure a strict policy is set in place, and consult with VisionPoint to explore the pros and cons of BYOD enabled rooms for ensuring the right-fit solution.