As technology increases, companies are revolutionising the way their employees work. With more cloud-based platforms, the ability to work remotely
means workers are able to complete their daily tasks remotely from home or in the office using their own personal computers and smartphones. This
new phenomenon is so common, it even has even been given its own acronym, known as BYOD. Bring Your Own Device.
The advantages of granting your employees the option of working from home on their own computer or tablet, is twofold. If most of your staff are working
from home and using their own devices, it can save on office space and the expense of hardware. It gives you the option to hot desk, and it also
means your workers are more productive, as they will spend more money on having the latest technology in computer laptops, than companies will
shell out for desktop computers.
While it also sounds fabulous in theory, there are some important things you need to consider, particularly if your business is well on its way to
a BYOD environment.
The first and most important aspect you need to consider is your business’s security. As technology advances, there is more chance your business’s
IT security protocols may be breached.
BYOD means highly sensitive information could be easily shared without your knowledge, particularly if a device is stolen or confidential information
falls into the wrong hands. It could present a more serious problem, if an unhappy staff member accepts a job with a competitor or share unauthorised
information in spite.
Protecting your company from a BYOD threat means you need to have three important steps in place.
1) A company BYOD policy, outlining what is expected from employees who are using their own devices and the consequences should they fail to comply
with the policy.
2) An application or software programme that manages the devices which connect to your businesses networks and cloud-based platforms
3) A signed contact between the two parties using BYOD. For example an IT department requiring remote access and the ability to monitor personal devices
must agree to only checking on activities related to business information.
4) Devices must have programs to prevent viruses and malware, and all new updates should be applied immediately.
5) Permission to wipe the device remotely if there is a) a breach of data or b) it is lost or stolen.
If your company already has employees using their own devices or you are thinking this could be the way forward for your company, talk to Conford IT
today. Servicing clients in Sydney, Castle Hill, Norwest and Parramatta.
