BYOD THE SMALL BUSINESS GUIDE TO BRING YOUR OWN DEVICE

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1 BYOD THE SMALL BUSINESS GUIDE TO BRING YOUR OWN DEVICE

2 INTRODUCTION The technological revolution has made us dependent on our mobile devices, whether we re at home, in the office, on the go or anywhere in between. Our smartphones, tablets and laptops enhance how we connect and communicate, as well as enable us to create, access and share information from any place, at any time. Naturally, our personal mobile devices have started to integrate into the workplace, insomuch that by 2018, 70 percent of working professionals will work on their personal smart devices, according to Gartner. 1 It s called the consumerization of IT, an enterprise mobility trend turned revolution that promotes mobile computing and empowers employees to choose their own favored device to maximize work productivity. This practice is more commonly known as BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) an IT policy or program that allows and even encourages employees to use their personal smartphone, tablet or notebook for accessing enterprise data and systems. According to Key Strategies to Capture and Measure the Value of Consumerization of IT, a Forrester Consulting Thought Leadership Paper Commissioned by Trend Micro, 68 percent of U.S. and European firms in 2012 deployed smartphone BYOD programs, and 47 percent deployed tablet and laptop BYOD programs. 2 This ebook draws awareness to the importance of varying BYOD programs and can help your organization learn more about deployment strategies. Is your business up to date on the prolific effects and pervasive nature of BYOD? Explore the following pros, cons and how-to steps for getting started.

3 PART ONE: ADVANTAGES & RISKS A BYOD initiative fosters employee empowerment, work flexibility and motivation. On the employer side, small and midsize businesses can lower costs and improve productivity. But with any business opportunity comes risk. Security, IT control and hidden costs are prominent BYOD concerns. The following highlights the successful outcomes, as well as implications, of deploying a BYOD policy. Employee Satisfaction. Employee satisfaction is a leading impetus for companies to implement a BYOD policy. BYOD offers the freedom of choice to employees, addresses personal preferences and promotes better work-life balance. Employees who communicate and access data, onsite or remotely, on their personal smartphone, tablet or laptop benefit from increased flexibility and self-sufficiency. Enhanced mobility (e.g., working from home) using personally invested devices (as opposed to devices selected by IT) boosts employee satisfaction and prevents workers from having to carry multiple devices. Employees are more comfortable using their own devices, and as employees become experts at using their own device for work-related activities, productivity increases. Productivity. A Forrester Research study found that 70 percent of survey respondents reported an increase in worker productivity. 3 Compared to technology typically deployed by company IT departments, employees tend to use newer, faster and more advanced devices. As a result, employees work more efficiently on these cuttingedge devices, which optimizes productivity. Remote employees also have the capability to access corporate information and communicate anytime from anywhere. For 48 percent of firms, providing work-fromhome or telecommuting employees with easy access to company data was an influential factor for adopting a BYOD offers the freedom of choice to employees, addresses personal preferences and promotes better work-life balance

4 BYOD policy. 3 Employees can communicate more frequently and efficiently. Meanwhile, employers gain higher returns on employee time. Reduced Expenses. A BYOD policy can reduce IT expenses by imparting costs onto the user, who is financially responsible for the device, its voice and data services and maintenance of the hardware. BYOD becomes a cost-cutting initiative that enables companies to gain a competitive edge while maximizing the overall output of their employees. On the user side, employees can independently upgrade to state-of-the-art hardware and adopt the latest features without any lag time. Rolling out company-wide technology can be a timeconsuming endeavor that ultimately affects efficiency and productivity. A BYOD policy can reduce IT expenses by imparting costs onto the user, who is financially responsible Keep in mind, the cost-effectiveness of BYOD differs from organization to organization, and it s not a one-size-fits-all solution. Before deploying a BYOD policy, perform a cost-benefit analysis and consider these common challenges: Network Security & Control. Allowing employees to access corporate data on personal devices is convenient, but it can also increase threats of intrusion, data breaches, data loss, viruses and malware attacks. Security is identified as the number one challenge for BYOD, especially if an employee smartphone or tablet is lost, stolen or compromised. Other risks include privacy, compliance, license management and lack of visibility issues. With a BYOD policy, companies relinquish enterprise control, such as enforcing an acceptable use policy for hardware and IT-managed security protocols. Implement security measures to protect sensitive data and applications, and train employees on company-developed BYOD specifications to ensure appropriate and safe usage. Trend Micro describes it as shifting your focus from securing the device to securing the user. 4

5 IT Resources & Cost. Employees may partially or entirely cover the costs of their own devices, but integrating and managing a diverse range of devices and varying operating systems can be costly. SMBs may not have the resources to offer IT support from a dedicated help desk or IT personnel. Support calls and IT challenges can also lower worker productivity and increase IT workload and complexity, and business operations could decelerate as a whole. IT infrastructure (wireless LAN and network access control) and an enterprise mobile management solution will also have to support an operable and safe BYOD virtual environment. The goal of a company cost-benefit evaluation is to first identify the problem. What problem in your organization would a BYOD solution solve? If there s no identifiable problem, then identify how BYOD can enhance your business operations, subsequently increasing your fiscal bottom line. Mark Coates, the EMEA VP at Good Technology, told Tech Radar that the right solution will be scalable and manageable. The BYOD program and organization should grow together, alongside evolving mobile enterprise strategies. 5

6 PART TWO: 3 STEPS TO GET STARTED A BYOD guide by cloud computing company Citrix shares that, on average, 5.18 devices per knowledge worker connect to the corporate network, and 4.43 devices across all workers connect to the corporate network. The number of devices is predicted to rise to six by As this data shows, your company may already and informally function as a BYOD organization, yet without the necessary policy guidelines that create a monitored digital work environment. Implementing a BYOD policy ensures personal mobile access to company data stays controlled and protected. You can start by establishing financial expectations (including compensation and reimbursement) followed by security mitigations and policy implementation. Step One Establish financial parameters. Determine if your company will reimburse for data and voice services costs. A reimbursement policy helps ensure all employees adhere to the same requirements. Some organizations even compensate employees (in part or full) who use personal devices for work. Cost sharing also exercises extra control over the effects of consumerization. On average, 5.18 devices per knowledge worker connect to the corporate network.. Software license fees, maintenance fees, telecommunications costs and network infrastructure costs are all expenses that need to be determined. Trend Micro s analysis of the Forrester Research study explains that software license fees and client access licenses enable employees to access corporate software, mobile applications, middleware and mobile services. 2 Typically, the end user can cover more of the maintenance costs, but your company may be responsible for certain expenses like purchasing new servers to support a wide range of devices.

7 Step Two Address security concerns. According to IBM, 71 percent of CEOs and IT managers say their most significant mobile enterprise challenge is security. 3 You can reduce security risks by using enterprise mobility management software that offers comprehensive, industry-validated and multi-layered security, including app-level encryption and data leakage prevention. 5 In addition, implement Windows app and desktop virtualization and secure file sharing. 6 Your organization can mitigate security vulnerabilities with these additional measures: Anti-malware and anti-virus software protection Encryption and isolation Passcodes, passwords and single sign-on Remote wipe and data retrieval on lost, stolen or noncompliant devices, on devices of terminated employees or after a data breach Jailbreaking prevention and detection Sandboxing Disabled printing Preventing access to client-side storage Secure application access (app tunnels, blacklisting, whitelisting) 6 Network access control (NAC) technology for user authentication Private cloud services (BYOC, Bring Your Own Cloud) 8

8 Step Three Implement and communicate a clear policy. A formal, coherent policy gives employees the freedom to choose their preferred device for work-related activities, whether primarily, occasionally or in addition to corporate-owned machines. The policy should outline security requirements, cost coverage, user privileges, risks and rules of behavior. Limit the scope of your policy for example, restrict the information available to BYOD employees and only allow certain devices to access it. 7 Your BYOD policy depends on the size of your business, financial limitations and security and control management resources. An organization can break down a BYOD policy into the following four options: 3 1. Unlimited access 2. Restricted access to strictly non-sensitive data and systems 3. IT-controlled access (monitored devices, apps and stored data) 4. Access while prohibiting the ability to locally store data on any personal device Best practices to consider include: Provide a stipend for employees who use their own devices entirely Ensure your users have secure single-click access to authorized applications through a unified private app store Provision (or de-provision) apps from an IT single point of control Secure all business data in the data center Protect business information that resides on the endpoint Deliver, track and monitor apps and desktops on devices Secure and sync file sharing Communicate the implementation and disseminate guidelines on data access and storage, segregation of work and personal data, etc.

9 The following questions can help guide the development of your policy: Which employees are eligible for BYOD and under what guidelines? Will employees have to earn this privilege, or is it a company-wide perk? What type of criteria makes an employee eligible? Travel? Performance? Job responsibilities? What services or discounts will you offer? Or will employees have to install apps on their own, enabling your company to forgo licensing compliance? What costs will the employee be responsible for? What services will your organization provide or reimburse? The White House s Digital Services Advisory Group and Federal Chief Information Officers Council offers a digital toolkit in support of federal agencies implementing a BYOD program. IT departments can use these sample policies and case studies as a starting point for assembling policies. TechRepublic s suggested BYOD policy templates can also help your organization draft the best, most simplified policy to meet specific company needs.

10 CONCLUSION BYOD is steadily driving business efficiencies and enhancing how employees work in today s digital landscape. As the demand for mobile and flexibility increases and technology evolves, BYOD continues to serve as an effective and relevant solution. Led by BYOD pioneers like Intel Corp., Ford Motor Company and IBM, BYOD is gaining permanence. Consider it to be a business opportunity to enrich your employees experience and the overall operation of your workplace. Giving employees the freedom to choose their own device to use for work helps deliver information at a fast pace and spurs business innovation. This mobile expectation of employees as consumers and consumers as employees creates a demand for the consumerization of IT. If you want to know how you can respond to this demand, use this ebook as a launching point for embracing the culture of BYOD. Can your company afford to neglect this opportunity? Resources: com/cloud-content/us/pdfs/business/white-papers/wp_forrester_measure-value-of-consumerization.pdf

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