Tip of the Week: What You’ll Need to Leverage BYOD

Bring Your Own Device has a lot of benefits for businesses, chief among them being giving your users the opportunity to use their own devices for work rather than those provided to them. More often than not, they will benefit from easy-to-use apps on their preferred devices, allowing them to get more done throughout the workday. When you implement BYOD, though, there are various concepts that you have to consider in order to ensure productivity, flexibility, security, and profitability.

Of course, the biggest issue with implementing a BYOD policy is that it can seem a little intimidating to start thinking about. Depending on the type of data being shared, implementing a BYOD strategy might be more complex than you initially think. This possibility is almost guaranteed if your business belongs to a particular industry with specific regulations in mind.

The first part of any BYOD system is making sure that you can track specific devices. You’ll want to know who is in possession of these devices, as well as who can access specific data. You can use a spreadsheet software like Microsoft Excel or Google Sheets to do this. It’s critical that you document all of the following information regarding any employee-owned devices accessing company data:

• Employee Name
• Device Make/Model/Serial Number
• Is there access to File Sharing?
• Is there access to Email?
• Is there access to the VPN?
• Is there access from the VPN?
• Is there Remote Desktop access?
• What network devices/drives can be accessed?
• What apps and licenses are required?

The next step is to determine which kind of mobile management software you’ll be using. If your business doesn’t have one of these, it’s like implementing a security policy with no power to reinforce it. Even though it’s difficult to get users to agree to such a policy, it’s absolutely critical to ensure the integrity of your business’ infrastructure. The typical MDM will provide administrators with access to devices that might not sit well with the average employee. That being said, it’s understandable for a business to manage risk, so hopefully they understand your perspective.

There are other options that aren’t as comprehensive as well--ones that can please everyone without overstepping boundaries. For example, security can be customized for specific applications, and admin controls be used to peer into the devices connected to the network. Admins can also look at specific applications rather than relying on an invasive security system, eliminating a lot of the personal issues that most users might have with such a solution.

Ultimately, you have to be very careful about how you approach mobile device security, as the slightest oversight could potentially create issues for your organization. Does your business need a hand working your way through Bring Your Own Device? Horne & Benik can help. To learn more, reach out to us at (603) 499-4400.