Cosmic is currently reviewing and further developing its own BYOD policies and procedures and so we've been looking around at what others are doing in small businesses, charities and community organisations. And the answer seems to be...not a lot!
With the ever-increasing use of mobile devices - smartphones and tablets in particular, this is something which every organisation is now going to have to pay attention to. And this Christmas will no doubt see a further explosion of gadgets added to the list (Dear Santa, please can I have an iPad Mini :))
So why do we need a BYOD policy then?
Well the positive side of the issue is that by supporting your employees to use their own devices in the work context, their engagement and productivity is almost certainly going to increase. And of course they will be more likely to continue to engage in their work beyond 'normal working hours' improving communications with colleagues, clients and suppliers. All of this should lead to more effective working and hopefully higher profits if managed well.
On the downside are the threats which BYOD presents to systems and data security (and reputation). All of these have to be very carefully considered in order to ensure the use of a wide range of devices, regularly crossing over from personal to professional use, is dealt with effectively. And so your policies must include issues such as password strength and regular resetting, security settings in place to ensure PINs are necessary to access devices, an ability to wipe data remotely if devices are lost, and more. You might also need to approve a list of which devices and which apps can be used under the BYOD policy.
It would be great to hear from any reader with experiences (good and bad) of BYOD so far, and here at Cosmic we will be happy to share our own approach to this in the coming months including at our ever-popular Happy Hour Sessions.