When it comes to device management, there is a growing divide between the wants and needs of employees and IT departments. At the moment, it appears that employees are winning this debate – but there are tools available to IT managers to ease the transition.
The question revolves around whether a bring-your-own-device model is superior to a corporate-owned device model. Increasingly, both employers and employees are opting for the former.
At first glance, it may seem as if a heavy reliance on BYOD may reduce corporate security. But, as noted by an article on Tech Target, the opposite may be true. Employers are finding that workers are often wedded to their chosen personal devices and go out of their way to use them, even when not explicitly authorized to. This can lead to security issues.
"Employers are finding that workers are often wedded to their chosen personal devices."
"When a corporate-issued device doesn't do what an employee … needs it to do, they will use email, thumb drives and whatever else they need to use," Michael Mathews, CIO of Oral Roberts University in Tulsa, Oklahoma, told the news source. "You multiply security risks if you force them to use something."
In addition, supporting corporate-owned devices often requires firms to invest in expensive data plans if they want to ensure that employees can always be productive. Meanwhile, by adopting a BYOD policy, companies can worry less about expenses and shift their energies to back-end security, while making employees happier in the process.
It may be more difficult for IT departments to support every possible mobile device out there, which is why some companies place limits on the models that their employees can purchase. Regardless, agile IT modernization solutions can help companies adapt to the demands of a successful BYOD policy. Inventu's Flynet Viewer meets employer and employee expectations in a way that feels familiar and simple.