BYOD | The Central Texas IT Guy

Times have changed and this has brought a significant switch in business sector too. With BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) culture now ruling the picture, more and more employees are bringing in their own smartphones, laptops and tabs at the workplace to perform their tasks. There are certain things which go well with BYOD and have benefited the organizations whereas there are some limitations too which it has brought along. Let’s go through the pros & cons of BYOD culture.

Pros Of BYOD

Convenience – The greatest advantage is that they do not have to carry two devices along. Since, they can work from their own devices, they are easily reachable if a sudden or urgent business task arises. So next time if you ask your subordinate to send you an email they can easily send it from their own device.
Employee Satisfaction – When employees are allowed to work on the devices they are already comfortable working on, then it can significantly contribute towards employee satisfaction. Also, this way their productivity increases which gives them enough time to think innovatively.
Cost – If employees work on their own devices it means that the company need not invest on laptops and PC’s for them. So, it is a cost effective strategy that helps companies in saving thousands of bucks.
Take Advantage Of Newer Technologies – Updating company software and upgrading hardware on regular basis equates to shelling out dollars at the company’s end. Whereas, when employees are allowed to use their own devices, you don’t have to worry about this at all. Employees will themselves get their devices upgraded with latest technologies & software’s which shall indirectly help company reap huge returns.

Cons Of BYOD

Security – One of the major concerns surrounding BYOD is security. It is very difficult to overcome this challenge. Many employees have access to confidential information as well as logins & passwords details. If a virus creeps in their device it might also leave your official information susceptible to data breach.
IT Support – It is always easier for people from IT team to fix and deal with devices of similar kind. Things have become complex with the rise of BYOD culture, where each employee brings in their own device. Somebody’s device might not support a program/ format that runs on the other person’s device. In such a case, it becomes difficult for the IT department to fix these issues and ensure that all the systems on the network are compatible with each other.
Difficulty In Retrieving Data – Since all the official data is available on the employee’s device as well, it becomes difficult to retrieve it when once he/she leaves the organization.

The smartest move is to educate your employees and keep them informed about device safety. For more information on IT Security, call Centex Technologies at (254) 213-4740.

20 October, 2016

In today’s challenging business environment, employees are required to be more flexible and productive. As such, many employers have started to implement a ‘Bring your own device’ (BYOD) policy instead of providing employees with company’s computer systems. BYOD is an innovative business model that offers numerous benefits, such as minimizing hardware costs for the organizations, enabling employees to work from anywhere and staying connected to work even after the office hours. However, despite these benefits, there are a lot of data security risks that BYOD brings for the organizations. Some of them have been listed below:

Insecure Application Usage

When employees use their personal devices for work, your company’s IT department cannot control which applications can or cannot be used. This can be a major security threat to the corporate data, particularly if the employees do not maintain caution while downloading apps or files from the internet. These may contain a malicious code that records the user’s keystrokes or steals data stored on the device.

Lost/Stolen Devices

In case your employee’s device gets stolen or lost, the information stored in it is at risk of unauthorized access. This is particularly true if proper security measures, such as strong password and data encryption policies, are not in place. In some instances, important organizational controls may also be accessed by anyone who has the device.

Wireless Access Points

Some employees configure their mobile devices to detect and connect to the available open networks. Accessing internet from free Wi-Fi hotspots at coffee shops, hotels or internet may put your company’s data at risk. The information transmitted over such networks is not encrypted and all the communication can be intercepted by a hacker.

Access From Non-Employees

The use of employees’ personal devices by the family members is a common scenario. Considering this, there are chances that the data be accidently deleted or shared with unauthorized users in case the employee fails to log out of the application.

Jailbroken And Rooted Devices

Employees who are tech-savvy may also jailbreak their device in order to get the latest app or software program. This removes the limitations imposed by the manufacturer and lowers the security of the mobile device, making it susceptible to hacking attack. Rooted devices are also at risk as they give administrator-level permissions to the device owner, facilitating him to install potentially malicious apps.

For more information and tips on data security for your Central Texas based organization, feel free to contact Centex Technologies at (855) 375 – 9654.

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Tag: BYOD

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