{"id":8164,"date":"2014-07-22T10:00:30","date_gmt":"2014-07-22T15:00:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.mrc-productivity.com\/blog\/?p=8164"},"modified":"2022-11-22T11:20:46","modified_gmt":"2022-11-22T17:20:46","slug":"5-byod-steps-you-cant-ignore","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mrc-productivity.com\/blog\/2014\/07\/5-byod-steps-you-cant-ignore\/","title":{"rendered":"5 BYOD steps you can\u2019t ignore"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Education\"Summary: Many businesses treat the “Bring Your Own Device” (BYOD) movement as a trend–viewing it as something they can choose to ignore. Learn why this approach is wrong, and the steps every business must take to address this growing phenomenon.
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\nGartner has a great tagline on their Bring Your Own Device<\/span> (BYOD) page: BYOD is here and you can\u2019t stop it<\/em>.<\/p>\n

That simple statement says it all. You see, contrary to what you might hear, BYOD isn’t a trend. It\u2019s a reality. <\/p>\n

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photo credit: The Daring Librarian<\/a> via photopin<\/a> cc<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>What\u2019s the difference? A trend implies uncertainty. Maybe it will catch on. Maybe it won\u2019t. With a trend, you decide whether or not your business jumps on board. <\/p>\n

On the flip side, reality doesn’t offer that luxury. You don\u2019t decide to \u201cjump on board\u201d a reality. It\u2019s happening, whether you like it or not. You adapt, or face the consequences.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s exactly what\u2019s happening with BYOD. As employees bring more and more personal devices into the workplace, you can\u2019t stop BYOD. It\u2019s happening. You must adapt. <\/p>\n

What should you do? If I can give one piece of advice, it is this: Focus less on restriction, and more on business enablement. How? Here are 5 BYOD steps that you must take:<\/span><\/p>\n

Step 1: Strengthen your network<\/h3>\n

As more employee-owned devices make their way into the workplace, the number of devices connecting to your corporate network increases exponentially. If not properly managed, this increase can easily overwhelm your network–reducing bandwidth and hindering employees ability to work.<\/p>\n

\n\u201cIT personnel must ensure their network architecture can handle increases in Wi-Fi traffic,\u201d says Blake Brannon, Lead Solutions Engineer at AirWatch<\/span><\/a>. \u201cThey must also ensure their existing device management platform can scale to accommodate management of employee devices. If IT has already invested in an EMM system, they should ideally be able to leverage existing policies that have been developed for corporate devices, extending the necessary policies, apps and content from the same console.\u201d\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Step 2: Create clear policies and terms of use<\/h3>\n

As businesses enter the world of BYOD for the first time, uncertainty plagues both the users and the organization. What can users do (and not do) with their personal devices? How much control does IT have over personal devices? A clear BYOD policy will help dispel confusion for both users and the business.<\/p>\n

\n\u201cBYOD policies can help employees opt in by outlining both the risks unauthorized access pose and the benefits BYOD programs provide,\u201d explains Brannon. \u201cThe BYOD policy should clearly define the rules of the program, in accordance with government regulations and company security policies. It should also clearly outline what IT will be able to see and manage on personal devices, so there is no fear of personal data being compromised or exposed.\u201d\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Step 3: Teach employees about proper security<\/h3>\n

If we\u2019ve learned anything from the recent data breaches, it\u2019s this: Users have awful security habits. As discovered last year through a few breaches<\/span> (which exposed user passwords), the most common password is \u201c123456.\u201d Users have limited knowledge of security risks…and they\u2019re bringing this into the workplace with their personal devices.<\/p>\n

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photo credit: archer10 (Dennis)<\/a> via photopin<\/a> cc<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>“What we find is that many people have no knowledge of mobile security risks,\u201d says Joe Ferrara, President and CEO, Wombat Security Technologies<\/span><\/a>. “The first step is to create and communicate policies on mobile devices in the workplace and then provide the assessment and education that help employees understand their risky behaviors and how to protect theirs, and their employer’s data.”\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Step 4: Decide how to approach BYOD<\/h3>\n

You\u2019ll find two schools of thought surrounding BYOD strategies. One calls for device-level control, while the other calls for data-level control. Here are brief descriptions of each:<\/p>\n