Partnering to support personal smartphones and BYOD

Monday, June 11th, 2012 Susan Cummings, Sr. Director, Marketing

Lately mobile IT is inundated with tools and technologies to enable the “Bring your own Device” (BYOD) phenomenon. Stories are everywhere about mobile device management, mobile security tools, device liability, reimbursement strategies, deployment options, and so on.

And caution has rightfully been suggested to mitigate the risks to corporate resources from employees who use personal smartphones and tablets for work—to prevent employees from circumventing security features and data loss from the use of unsecured devices. But beyond the technology and security aspects of BYOD, IT has a strategically important role to play both in supporting employee productivity and controlling costs for the organization.

So when considering supporting the use of personal smartphones, remember that making the user responsible for paying the bill doesn’t really solve the problem of the high cost of getting connected. Connectivity is oxygen for productivity, and there’s an explosion of bandwidth-intensive cloud-based apps. So it’s perhaps not surprising that many have reported a significant “bill shock”: a rude surprise in the form of a huge data roaming bill.

Even if the cost of connectivity isn’t directly supported through IT—if the costs for data plans and Wi-Fi day passes are distributed in expense reports and department budgets—the increased use of personal smartphones and tablets exposes your company to risks in the form of spiraling connectivity charges. So be sure your mobility policy provides for mobile cost control.

But one important factor is often lost in the buzz about BYOD policies and technologies: that is, partnering with your mobile employees is essential to an effective enterprise mobility policy.

iPass conducts quarterly research on mobile worker behavior, which has shown that most really do want to act in the best interests of the organization and help protect corporate assets. They also will go to great lengths to be productive, even when they’re not at their desks. That said, they are willing to follow your rules; but first they must understand them.

So the question is: how well understood is your policy for using personal mobile devices for work? Simply developing the policy isn’t enough; you must ensure that employees understand them. Educating personal smartphone and tablet users is the key. Read the iPass Insight Brief “Partnering with Mobile Workers to Support Personal-liable Smartphones” to learn what your mobile worker training program should include.

By partnering with employees and supporting their ability to be productive anywhere, anytime, you’re building shared responsibility for protecting your organizations interests. And IT can be the hero in a positive relationship that will help achieve your security and cost-control goals.