There are two new acronyms affecting most businesses today. And, like all change, these can have both positive and negative impacts on your business.

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1 There are two new acronyms affecting most businesses today. And, like all change, these can have both positive and negative impacts on your business. We put this document together to help you understand what s going on and to give you some guidance on the things you should be thinking about regarding these latest business changes.

2 BYOD Bring Your Own Device Looking around your business today most likely nearly all your employees have some form of smartphone in their pocket. In the early days of the smart devices, the Blackberry device was In 2012, over 1 billion people used the early standard for a handheld device that was capable of sending and receiving business smartphones. That number is expected class . At that time, those devices had to communicate to a dedicated Server so it was to be 1.75 billion by the end of easy to control access. But the iphone and its competitors changed all that with built in that could easily communicate with Microsoft Exchange and other common platforms. Suddenly, a consumer grade device could be attached to a business account with literally no need for IT assistance. Just as the iphone and competitive devices changed the phone landscape, so too did the ipad and its competitors. With a tablet in hand and mainstream applications such as Microsoft Office loaded on it, users can pass work files back and forth between the tablet and their work PC. Today you d probably be hard pressed to find an employee who doesn t own at least a smartphone, and many own both a smartphone and a tablet. And they expect to be able to bring these devices to work with them and access both work and personal information throughout the day.

3 BYOA Bring Your Own Applications Once people got used to accessing their on smartphones and tablets, they quickly began to realize that the real power of these smart devices was in the applications that were easily in- At the end of 2013, more than 60 billion stalled on them. As social media sites like Facebook developed their easy-to-use, easy-to- applications had been downloaded from install, and in many cases totally free mobile applications, people began spending more time the Apple App Store. using applications on their smartphones than actually talking on them. Cloud based storage quickly followed as software vendors realized that people wanted an easy way to share photos between their own devices and those of their friends and families. Again, at little or no cost to the consumer, these vendors supplied mobile applications that also had an element of them that was PC based. Some applications started on the PC end of the spectrum, Dropbox for example, and then began to integrate with mobile devices to allow virtually seamless transfer of files between a PC and a smartphone or tablet. Once the barriers to moving data began to disappear people began to treat their smart device like an extension of their desktop. But where they were using Company supplied and licensed software on their PC, they are now using free or very low cost software of their own choosing on their smart device.

4 Fast Facts Four out of five smartphone users check their phones within the first 15 minutes of waking up. 80% say it s the first thing they do! One recent study found that 79% of people aged have their smartphones with them 22 hours a day! From one recent Industry study: 62% of U.S. employees who use their own smartphone for work do so everyday 69% of employees who BYOD are expected to access work s a er hours Only 1 in 10 workers get any form of s pend or company reimbursement for their smartphone 52% of employees access their company data over unsecured WiFi networks in public places

5 So your employees are now bringing their own hardware to work with them, and in many cases have no problem using those devices to perform at least some of their daily work. And since they have full access to things like their business account in their hands day and night, odds are good that they ll be answering outside of business hours. What do you get from this? A lot! More working hours from your employees. (You re most likely not paying them for answering an in the evening or on the weekend.) Devices that your people use, but that you didn t have to buy for them. In most cases, people expect to foot the bill for their phone and their data plan. With the right mobile apps an important file such as a spreadsheet can be edited on the plane or after hours, then sent back into the office where others can use it. Tablets and phones can be considered an extension of the desktop PC with the right applications installed. There is a lot to like about this explosion of both the hardware devices and the software that resides on them. It can be good for your business and it can keep your younger employees much happier as they adopt the working methods and times that best suit their personal style.

6 The first and often most obvious problem with this whole movement is that it becomes very difficult to manage when an employee leaves the company. If the employee has installed their own applications and has placed Company information on their device, there is literally no way to account for that information when they leave employment. File Sharing applications may be storing any amount of Company information out on the private cloud for the employee and there s no way to get it back or even account for what s there. Did he just dump your customer list out to a file, send that to his Dropbox account and then go to work for your competitor? Remote Desktop Applications can now be installed that allow inbound connections to the Employees desktop PC. If these were installed by the employee without any notification to the IT Management, a terminated employee might be able to access their Desktop PC even after being terminated. In the past, the exit interview with a terminated employee was the chance to get back the keys to the front door, collect the company credit card and part ways knowing there was a clean break. Employees who have installed their own applications create headaches and unknowns when they leave. The data they moved to the cloud may never be accounted for, and to ensure that they didn t leave any remote access tools on their PC, the IT Team may need to spend time hunting down applications with no list or accounting of what they should be looking for.

7 Even if your Employees don t leave your employment anytime soon there are still things that can go wrong when personal devices are combined with Company information and resources. One very common example of problems occurs when one of these devices is simply lost or stolen. Now who has access to your Company data? All smartphones now have some ability to lock themselves and require a password for access. Unfortunately, nearly 40% of smartphone owners don t use this simple security layer. Remote Management Tools can be installed on most smartphones now to allow IT Management to remotely lock and/or wipe data from a phone that has been lost or stolen. In most cases, you ll need to partner with a professional IT Service firm that has invested in these tools. These tools need to be part of the plan, and installed before things go wrong; after the fact is too late. Security is often the last thing on the mind of someone who is using their own device and applications. People with malicious intent know that and profit from it. Smartphones and Tablets have become an easy target for those folks who are looking to do bad things.

8 The first step to ensure that the BYOD and BYOA explosion doesn t derail your business is to be proactive about it. A good place to start is with some basic Company policy and education for your employees. Define what devices can access your Company network and WiFi. If you don t tell them otherwise, most people assume it s perfectly ok to use Company WiFi on all of their personal devices Fast Facts whenever they are in the building. From one recent Industry study: Educate your people on the basics of Data and Device Security. If you don t explain your Cell phone the s more than doubled in concerns and policies surrounding this, you re leaving all the decisions up to your folks; and 2013 most will choose whatever works best for them with little consideration of what s best for the Over 3 million people had their Company. smartphones stolen last year Talk to your IT Service Provider about Remote Management tools that they offer. If you want Less than 30% of smartphone owners someone to be able to remotely wipe your data off a stolen phone, the plan for it needs to be in place before the phone goes missing. backup their phones or install so ware to locate a lost phone Need help or guidance with your own Company? Call us today and we ll be glad to assist. (801)