What’s so Great about BYOD?

Bring Your Own Device (BYOD), is changing the look and feel of the modern office. As the ownership rate of mobile devices among American adults creeps closer to reaching 50%, more gadgets are showing up around the office, and they are being used to get work done! If you have yet to embrace BYOD in your office, then you will want consider these 3 advantages.

BYOD Doesn't Cost Your Business Anything
An employee that brings in their own tools to do work fundamentally goes against normal business operations. The way offices have always worked is that the company buys the technology; the employees come in, use it, and then go home to use their personal computer for personal reasons. Thanks to the popularity of BYOD, employees are actually using their own money to pay for a tool that they will use in your office, to get work done for you.

In fact, a report from Good Technology State discovered that, "50 percent of companies with BYOD models are requiring employees to cover all costs -- and they are happy to do so." From an accounting perspective this makes little sense. Mobile devices cost a few hundred dollars and then there is the monthly data plan on top of that, and employees are willingly taking these costs upon themselves. How can this be? The reason for this is related to the second benefit of BYOD.

BYOD Improves Worker Satisfaction
Mobile devices have become a personal matter. Many people identify with their gadgets and feel like they can't get anything (including their jobs) done without them. There are people that shop for a mobile device with the same intensity and effort that normal people take when buying houses, cars, and clothes; because the thought process is, "this reflects who I am." This is why there are so many people that get in heated debates about Apple vs. Android; it is something they take personally. A person who thinks so highly of their mobile device is going to prefer using their own gadget compared to a standard issue device your IT department found on sale.

BYOD Makes Your Business More Hip
Being hip may not be a goal for every company (sometimes it's hip to be square), but there is an additional benefit that comes with being up-to-date with the latest technology, and that is saving you the expense of upgrading. Mobile device owners are notorious for having the latest technology. This cannot be said about many companies, that will frequently hold on to technology for as long as possible to save themselves from the big expense of updating everything at once.

If you are noticing that your staff is digging BYOD, and it is making them more productive, then it would be a classy move to take some of the savings you are experiencing from BYOD and help your staff cover the expenses associated with mobile device ownership. Other benefits that come from using the latest technology is taking advantage of the most current solutions available, and increased network security.

BYOD may be changing the look and feel of your office, but we think that it is for the better. Before officially opening the floodgates to BYOD and allowing everybody to bring in every gadget tomorrow, you will first want to prepare your network and take security precautions. Directive can help you setup your business for BYOD. Give us a call at 607.433.2200 to find out more about how your business can benefit from BYOD!