Bring Your Own Device (BYOD)
Introduction
After introducing a Smartphone, there have been smarter means to carry out transactions, and various companies can witness the connection and after implementing these benefits. Many organizations have started to accept the preferences and have applied BYOD plans to enable using of workers’ personal mobile phone gadgets for business purposes. How BYOD is affecting the corporate technical environment is an important topic that needs clarity.
Study Objective
In this study, I will recognize the main advantages of BYOD within the corporate technical environment and find out the main ways where its ideas might enhance the end user’s general working knowledge. I will as well analyze thoroughly the main threats surrounding the BYOD and examine all security controls and skills that are presently obtainable and being used to handle the risks. After that, I will offer a real-world illustration of how this BYOD constructively or unconstructively influenced the organization’s efficiency or security; and find out whether you might think about executing BYOD ideas in an actual organization and if these benefits overshadow the risks.
Advantages of BYOD on Corporate Technical Environment
The main benefits of the BYOD in an organization have their basis in getting work done (Egan, 2013). They consist of new innovative opportunities for CIOs by rolling out applications to enhance the work experience and production (van der Meulen & Rivera, 2013). Another benefit would be the cost cuts because of hardware reduction (Marshall, 2014). The cost-benefit goes hand-in-hand with the fact that purchasing Smartphone plans can be expensive. If the employee bears the brunt of the expense, there are huge savings—especially in the scenario where a newly hired employee leaves one month later. The idea is to go beyond the device to get real work that drives revenue for companies done to improve customer satisfaction ultimately (Egan, 2013). Exemplary apps that might fit that description would be those applications that are presently accessed through the employee’s laptops and desktops. These applications would be self-service Human Resource apps, Intranet portal page links, Microsoft Lync, and others.
An absolute engrossment of employees venturing into new learning curbs is not the aim for this BYOD endeavor—getting the job done with existing applications and the least amount of added processes as possible (Egan, 2013). This is the idea of the concept of BYOD as it benefits organizations by enhancing the overall workforce experience through proprietary and conventional COTS (commercial off-the-shelf) apps. Now, as this device has an equalized role as both a personal and business device, there are significant risks that organizations must consider and address for this endeavor to be a successful undertaking.
Analysis of Major Risks Surrounding BYOD
The significant challenges and risks surrounding BYOD are very involved in the implementation of these mobile devices. These considerable risks include governance and security(Marshall, 2014). The efficiency of this program must depend upon the standardization of policy and procedures that guide employees and IT personnel. Governance is about one hand washing the other as supporting tools that end-users want, and the management and security of those tools are facilitated (The Dark Side of BYOD, 2013). Let’s say, for example, and a company might permit employees to bring their own Apple device that supports Exchange Active Sync but exclude Androids because of their lack of support for Exchange Active Sync (Phifer, n.d.). Even with that, the policy must be in great detail. Leaving out great detail can make way for security risks that bring about data contravention.
Worker’s Privacy and BYOD
Another severe concern about implementing a BYOD strategy is employee security. Worker’s device contains the organizations that will use confidential substances such as photographs, activity pictures, bank accounts and passwords, et cetera, and a similar method. Additionally, the organization has all the rights in screening the activities related to the device. In general conditions, all these gadgets are appended at the structure, and relations test the arranged devices, at the point when individual gadgets are considered, such checking exercises is unimaginable.
Examination of the individual device is additionally an issue of concern influencing the appropriation of the BYOD strategy. If some information is expected to recognize the security breach, the private or individual information of the device is likewise trapped. On the off chance that connection sets the farthest point to catch the data, at that moment, the real examination was not possible adequately. All these concerns direct the relationship to confirm their representative subtleties still maintaining their checking objectives. Associations ought to make their representatives mindful of the security switch offs and the sensible wishes for security identified with their exploitation of an individual device for work. If checking or an assessment is vital, associations ought to plan their activities in a manner that looks to limit the possible introduction of individual and private information (Dhingra, 2015).
Remote Wiping and Blocking
At a point when the devices are to be used to assist the association, there’re certain restrictions forced to verify the classified and fragile data of the connection. This can be an examination for the worker who wishes to use particular projects or functions for their operation. To obstruct specific matters, the worker has to load a particular creation in his gadget information from workers near to a home device (Dark Reading, 2015). Cleaning, bricking, or obstructing of the gadget can damage the device or might expel the individual data of the workers. Employees must know about the results of blocking, cleaning of information caused by the creations to be introduced in their gadgets. All these conditions must be specified in near to home device use strategy and the fundamental assent structures.
Real-World Effect on an Organization’s Productivity
The horror stories behind security risks plague the new phenomena called BYOD, and there seems to be minimal regard for the plight of IT security. With the potential of minor threats to devices, some security protocols can be a little overkill in some situations. Recently, the CEO of a company called Mimecast, Peter Bauer, misplaced the entire gallery containing family pictures and other private information credit to the BYOD strategy that he assisted in establishing. On holiday with the family members, his daughter was trying to get into his Smartphone and did know the PIN to get into the phone. After five attempts, the Mimecast BYOD policy triggered and automatically wiped the phone (Narisi, 2013).
In essence, the company’s security policy should not be so imbalanced that it does not protect the user’s privacy and personal data (Narisi, 2013). And, if this imbalanced policy is active, there should be signed documentation that the user has read the policy (Narisi, 2013).
BYOD in Federal Government
With almost 2 million workers, the federal government has a potential labor force shortage following a predictable wave of employees’ retirement. Complicating issues further, agencies must continue to oppose the private sectors for skills. Federal agencies might offer workers an exceptional work skill, and chances of serving the public good, however, usually fall behind other organizations once it gets to main benefits like income and place of the work environment (Dhingra, 2015). To make sure that federal IT occupations are more beautiful, agencies discover themselves hunting for unusual ways of updating, mainly through mobile technologies desired by younger employees in the place of work.
Consideration for Implementing BYOD
Companies who decide that implementing a BYOD program in the workplace should ensure that a communicated policy is communicated to all employees before they are permitted to use their devices in an office. Employees who wish to take part in the BYOD program should have to sign a contract that outlines the policy. If employees abuse the privilege of using personal devices at work, there could be severe consequences for the entire company. Management plays a significant part in communicating and enforcing the policies of the BYOD program to the employees.
The detail of governance should be apparent in stating who can use personal devices, how they use them, and what devices are supported (Phifer, n.d.). Processes of support, right, and responsibilities on behalf of the organization and the employee should be stated in the policy, and a written agreement between the two (employee and employer) should be written and signed (Phifer, n.d.). The details of the security policy must address the difference between corporate devices and personal devices and not confuse the two. It must authorize acceptable methods, a statement in the governance policy. The adaptability of the plan must meet the changes in technology. In other words, the system cannot be overly focused on these devices (Phifer, n.d.). The BYOD security policy must be an ongoing and ever-evolving strategy. An incomplete or non-evolving system can pose serious security risks and have adverse effects on an organization’s productivity level.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the perspective in which this sensation called BYOD is approached has many effects on the corporate technical environment. Therefore, the likelihood of implementing BYOD is a definite action that a firm would take. By having a thorough understanding of some concerns and threats connected to BYOD, insurers might pin down the pain points and offer essential security required by business customers.
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