The growth of the usage of Bring You Own Devices (BYOD) has been a major challenge for IT departments. Research the topic of BYOD and discuss the challenges they brought and how they have been overcome with your module colleagues in the Group Discussion Forum.
Organisations are finding it a significant expense equipping workforce with devices to enable its mobile workforce. More users have their own mobile devices and are using them to access corporate resources.
The benefit to the organisation by allowing Bring Your Own Devices (BYOD) is a cost-saving on end-user equipment. However, there are challenges that come with this policy.
Security: The equipment is no longer under the sole control of the I.T. department which can complicate security issues. With the device being used on public networks (home, cafes, hotels etc.) not just the corporate network, it is important to have appropriate anti-virus software installed and regularly updated to prevent the introduction of viruses into the workplace.
Support: Who is responsible for the device if something goes wrong with it or it gets damaged.
Data loss: In accordance with organisation and legal requirements, any data on the device should be retrievable or able to be remotely deleted if the device owner leaves the company.
Data recovery: The data on the device should be regularly backed up in to ensure that in the case of corruption or total loss the organisation is able to reduce the risk of losing important information. If this data backup/recovery strategy involves cloud storage then it should, ideally, be encrypted.
Lost/stolen devices: Sufficient protection by way of authentication on the device plus encryption of the hard disk should be in place to prevent unauthorised access to data. Also, who is responsible for replacing the device, the organisation or owner, does this depend on when/how the device is being used?