To understand the evolution of BYOD policies, let’s explore the 3 most popular approaches of BYOD

• Approach 1: Head in the sand

If an employee brings a new iPhone, this does not mean that the IT department will immediately receive an additional budget. Consequently, it is often easier for IT to just pretend that there isn’t a new phone. Ignorance is not always bliss, as we have heard the alarming tales of mobile devices being used to breach a network. Understandably, IT doesn’t want to take responsibility for device and network security with such a high risk.

It’s not a matter of wanting to participate with other IT members, nor whether they can do so. Mobile devices are set in our personal lives, and so employees may be susceptible to access IT. And when IT wants to implement a policy and handle a computer properly, unclear ownership doesn’t make it easy. Data and devices were purchased by either the employee or the business, creating a vital distinction. Now, the employee owns the device, but the application and data layer may have ownership divisions, which complicates things.

That would be enough for some IT teams to stick their heads back in the sand. Even though these devices are normally linked to the corporate network and have access to corporate email services. This is one of the most acclaimed approaches in the evolution of BYOD.

• Approach 2: Cro-Magnon

Companies subscribing to the ‘Cro-Magnon’ strategy are usually the most skeptical regarding BYOD. Their aim is typically to eliminate ‘Y’ and ‘O’ from ‘bring your own device.’ Cro-Magnon organizations are often prescriptive in their IT and device management policies. It outlines which devices they endorse and makes specific distinctions between corporate and personal properties.

However, some companies in highly regulated environments go so far as to say no to BYOD altogether. Although this is a well-defined role, it can serve to alienate users and is hard to implement, frankly. Users can go around the laws and connect unauthorized devices to the network in specific ways. This opens up several security and enforcement problems. This is one of the best approaches to the evolution of BYOD.

The most important force behind the Cro-Magnon approach is, generally, security. One can see companies implementing strict BYOD policies in regulated sectors to be consistent with the guidelines. It is also not unusual for businesses leaning towards this strategy that have already had security breaches.

In theory, this approach can make IT simpler, but in some situations, things merely provide a stop-gap solution. To control mobile and other user devices and PCs, it needs a separate set of policies. As a consequence, IT takes two toolsets and solutions that aren’t connected. To get their job done, it doesn’t remain easy to provide the end-user with a cohesive experience.

• Approach 3: Enlightened IT

BYOD has its drawbacks, but in the end, making it happen is based on a clear business need. It provides both users and organizations with essential benefits. BYOD enables employees to use the devices they want and promotes self-sufficiency in IT. By implementing this BYOD strategy, companies can anticipate productivity gains, cost savings, and employee satisfaction. But, BYOD can be a nightmare for IT, too. Standardization is the key to navigate this approach in the evolution of BYOD.

Standardization is one of the best IT strategies to ensure that it provides high-quality service and protects the business. For a well-defined plan for how IT will help and offer these devices, standardization of policies is essential. Besides, it is crucial to take a user-centric approach since the user is the common denominator that connects all devices. IT is responsible for safeguarding and providing services.

IT departments need a unification of toolsets that allow users to handle the various devices to execute the best strategy. For businesses needing to manage PCs in all of their forms, simple MDM capabilities are not enough. Maybe years from now, we will be closer when sandboxed operating systems are commonplace. Meanwhile, IT shops need to look for resources that include integration and help clients integrate themselves.

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Here are 9 reasons for BYOD failure for your organization

1. Does not communicate with employees

No BYOD scheme can be effective without open contact with the employees. A rollout of the BYOD could flow downhill. Until deploying across the organization, managers should first register their computers, communicating the functionality and privacy features. That way, before they use it themselves, employees are aware of what the solution will do. And see the management teams committed to applying BYOD.

[Read also:Keys of Successful BYOD Policy]

2. Do not impose passwords on devices

BYOD devices today house all kinds of confidential corporate data. Documents, emails, and more can be lost or stolen unless there are passwords. While it seems self-explanatory, this main move is ignored by many businesses in ensuring an effective BYOD program. Be sure to implement passcodes with a reasonably high degree of complexity. It will save devices that are enrolled to keep the corporate data secure from prying eyes!

3. Not protecting ActiveSync

ActiveSync is available in most mobile devices on the market today. Indeed, there are advantages to the service. The problem is that IT administrators have limited control and insight as regards ActiveSync. For example, if a device is lost, administrators must rely on employees to tell them about it. It will give thieves plenty of time to access sensitive corporate data, which is a reason for BYOD failure. Administrators are enabled with an EMM solution to manage devices in the cloud and approve or block devices.

4. Not controlling email profiles

Consider this one the past email ghost. Often even after an employee leaves a company, email profiles remain active, leaving sensitive information exposed. Most administrators are challenged with fully wiping devices to combat that. However, with an EMM solution, administrators can configure and manage profiles. It means they can selectively remove the profile from a profile device without touching any other phone information.

5. Not implementing encryption

Intruders may still get in even with a passcode enabled on the device. In that case, there is encryption to protect data, but unfortunately, many companies don’t take advantage of it. Fortunately, IT administrators have different encryption options to consider, whether this is the entire device or just a corporate container.

6. Not providing education/training to end-users

Today’s organizations are sensitive to users who, for privacy reasons, do not choose to register in EMM. Unfortunately, administrators are bound to gain critical insight from some of the most sensitive tools.

7. Not setting minimum requirements on OS versions

Even when it comes to installing the new update for their BYOD devices employees are behind the curve. It could be a common cause for BYOD failure with new operating systems coming out which feels like every day. This is terrible news for employers because older versions may have vulnerable information, making any older device a weak link. To overcome this, administrators must be able to track and execute the updates. And be able to employ tactics such as blocking emails if devices are not updated.

8. Not limiting corporate data flow

Whether administrators like it or not, employees in most organizations use data sharing apps like Dropbox. And if the software controls, the internal information will also be passed on to employees. The aim here is to integrate with a container-based approach completely. This content is pushed through the system directly to a container framework governed by restrictive policies. That way, administrators can uninstall on-demand corporate content from these devices without worrying about data leakage.

9. Do not do due diligence when evaluating BYOD

Many companies do not take the crucial step of finding out why they need BYOD before introducing it. And do not understand how to use a management solution that would impact the current state of things. When old capabilities are suddenly blocked, many groups are surprised, which is a common BYOD failure. Administrators must be sure that EMM meets needs and impede them and assess and identify workers’ requirements before moving forward.

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The Impact of COVID-19 on Business

The pandemic seriously influenced the vast majority of the companies. While small businesses feel the result across all regions, African businesses appear to be hitting the most. Measures to control the virus, such as lockdowns and quarantines, have hurt company processes. It has also affected many global supply chains at the local and international levels. Business managers claim that their profits have declined dramatically, and it has become increasingly challenging to access inputs. In other words, the effect COVID-19 on small business has faced both market and supply-side difficulties.

Small businesses face increased risk of permanent closure

Although the crisis has impacted most firms, the depth and extent vary by firm size. The impact on MSMEs is particularly severe because the pandemic hits them. Food services and accommodation and wholesale and retail services are the sectors affected by the pandemic. Small companies are more vulnerable: as they have fewer assets and fewer cash reserves to offset the liquidity shortages induced by lockdowns. Nearly one out of four MSMEs are at risk of shutting down permanently in a few months.

Access to information is the key to helping those most in need

Transparency and access to information are essential for businesses to benefit from government assistance programs. Exposure to information and benefits from services of government assistance relating to COVID-19 is severe. Even with small companies providing the most support, they are also the least likely to benefit from such stimulus packages. The COVID-related assistance program is put in place, with clear protocols to ensure timely access to such service.

Overall, small businesses make up more than 95 percent of all enterprises, accounting for about 65 percent of overall jobs. A widespread breakdown of MSMEs may have dire effects on national economies and prospects for global development. Governments should give priority to policies that benefit small businesses in their response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

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These tasks involve accessing organizational content and analysis of data and messaging clients and team members. Users rely on mobile apps while they are away from their workstations to complete these vital tasks. So when a device is missing or replaced, IT needs to ensure that users can access those applications promptly. To achieve this, IT can roll out most smartphone apps with a network for mobile device management (MDM).

However, corporate IT departments have no time for downloading apps for each device. While using MDM for large-scale deployment of apps, there are still concerns about managing BYOD smartphones, tablets, and more. Mobile admins typically cannot work on personal devices with the same management policies.

Advantages of Mobile App Virtualization in Enterprise

Mobile apps virtualization— especially mobile apps streaming— is the best way to tackle a lack of administrative control on personal devices. For some time, the technology for streaming software and content has been around. Vendors like Microsoft are using this technology to offer complex applications to end-users, like the Microsoft 365 series.

This method does not require IT to perform installations and configurations. The idea is to connect mobile users from a centralized server with streamed mobile applications. Users may eventually be able to access enterprise applications without having to install or configure them beforehand. This is likely to change the way mobile devices interact with apps and how IT handles apps on personal devices for work.

Besides ease of control on personal devices, there are other significant advantages that virtualization and streaming of mobile applications can bring to enterprise organizations:

• Portable Applications: Users don’t have to restrict the access to a specific device to their work application. Alternatively, they can load applications from enterprise to multiple enabled devices and access the same data and files.

• Application Isolation: The program can live only when it is in use on the mobile device. So data is secured and never stored on the device locally.

• Broad Access to Applications: Research shows that streaming virtual apps can alter the positioning of mobile devices. Enterprise organizations are likely to operate the applications on edge servers, which can be placed by cell towers. The mobile devices will locate the nearest server and access the applications when appropriate.

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People have become so expert at using their own devices that any corporate device must provide a similarly seamless experience. Many companies have realized about allowing employees to use their personal devices during the Covid-19 pandemic. They became the connection between companies and their frontline employees, enabling them to communicate critical information to everyone. It seems like BYOD in Retail is here to stay.

Below are a few ways in which enabling BYOD in Retail will be important for productivity and happiness of employees.

• In the retail industry, they can work from anywhere: Frontline workers are on the move like never before and have become sales experts’ walking points. Some were making personal deliveries to consumers who lived near them or on their way home during the lockdown. Others brought orders out of the store to the customer’s car for deliveries on the kerbside. And employees used to work at a single location were more often redeployed to new tasks to cope with unique patterns and demand volumes. The device from which employees receive their daily updates and training has to be the one they carry with them every time, and it has to be smart, that’s beyond doubt. Now, BYOD in Retail is important.

• They can collaborate: In retail, fewer activities are now solos, apart from stock-taking. The staff wants to connect physically or over the network. Personal devices are now the employee’s mouth, ears, and eyes on the move.

• They can access company data and apps: No company wants to be reminded how much time and money has gone into training frontline employees to use corporate apps through desktop devices. It seems that the more significant the device, the higher the use, and intensive classroom training is required. Staff will only have to use specified and task-oriented skills via mobile apps.

• They can train and cross-train more effectively: It was unlikely that switching from role to role during the crisis would have been smooth unless processes and protocols were in place to handle them. Relevant applications on staff devices can help them understand the role requirements and demonstrate the necessary skills to the management. It also offers them the option of providing immediate support and continuous reminders of the things they need to do every day.

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Knowing and understanding that you made a mistake in your BYOD method is the first step. The next step is taking steps to correct those mistakes.

How do you know when you made those errors?

What can you do to avoid their damaging impact on your business?

Listed below are a few common Mistakes to Avoid in BYOD

Not officially enforcing a BYOD policy

Despite its name, it doesn’t just mean workers can bring their devices and start using them for business tasks. Your organization needs to thoroughly inspect each device before employees can apply for business processes. This is to ensure that the operating system of a smartphone is updated and compliant with your mobile devices. And also, no malware or malicious data is hidden on a device.

Not setting standards for devices

For BYOD plan, you cannot consider just any device, regardless of whether or not an employee is skilled at using it. BYOD plan will describe employee device requirements, including what it needs to be compatible with, and how recent it is. This is critical if one or more of your employees use obsolete equipment or fail to upgrade their operating system.

Ignoring personal apps on BYOD devices

The applications on a user’s personal device can be a big business problem. First, if an application contains harmful data, you don’t want that device to access sensitive or mission-critical data. Therefore the company needs to conduct a full security review of devices and applications before entering the business. They can be a significant crutch to employee efficiency even if the applications on a device are secure. If your employees spend too much time on non-business related devices, this might cause your management team to get frustrated.

Not communicating with your employees about BYOD

While incorporating a BYOD policy into your company, employees should be in the loop on exactly what that BYOD policy entails. Some employees may worry that BYOD is just an excuse to access their personal information. Although this isn’t true, communicating what its BYOD policy means to the enterprise is essential for your business.

Not wiping devices before employees leaving your infrastructure

At some point, your BYOD policy will allow you to remove a device. This is a natural part of the process, but you have to make sure that you delete all company data. It can be achieved either by the organization manually or by an EMM program automatically.

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Organizations in every field are adopting BYOD policies for their workforce and realizing incredible benefits. Letting your employees use their own devices will make them more efficient, cut down on business expenses, and increase productivity.

Like every coin has two sides, BYOD does have pros, but it also comes with cons. Let’s look at some of the reason why BYOD is not a Good Idea.

• Security Risks: Maybe the most significant concern with BYOD is security. If a personal device is misplaced or stolen, or the worker allows friends or family to use it, confidential and proprietary information can be at risk. If an employee is using public Wi-Fi, exposure to hacking or malware is possible. Companies must also delete data from the employee’s computer after the employee leaves and suspend their access to the network. Mobile device management (MDM) and Mobile Application Management (MAM) can address security issues by allowing for the wiping of missing or stolen devices and updating security solutions.

• Increased Pressure on IT Staff: To troubleshoot and enforce security measures, the IT staff must be familiar with a more extensive range of devices and operating systems.

• Privacy Issues: BYOD gives businesses less control about which apps are installed or which websites are accessed, even those which are more likely to contain malware. Employees may also feel that MDM or MAM gives their employer access to phones or tablets’ private information.

• Liability for Damage: In busy warehouse environments, durability is particularly critical. Will the device selected by a worker is durable enough to withstand working conditions? And if the personal phone of an employee gets damaged during work, is the organization responsible for fixing or replacing it?

• Potential Infrastructure Upgrades: BYOD may mean more devices on the company network, rising bandwidth demand, and requiring improvements to the network.

• BYOD Policy Development: A successful BYOD program requires policy development (legal advice may be needed), planning, and training.

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BYOD eliminated the burden of providing company-owned devices to employees and then maintaining them. Employees were permitted to perform business operations using their own phones, tablets, and laptops. A basic set of instructions allows most users to connect their devices to networks within the organization. The system provider for the employee performs the majority of maintenance and replacement tasks.

Many companies have benefited from BYOD, and here a few reasons why BYOD a Win-Win Strategy for enterprises

• Cost Savings: Businesses will save a lot of money by allowing their employees to use their own devices for official purposes. Businesses won’t have to give the employee expensive devices, which they can purchase themselves anyway. Organizations may also opt to pay/not pay/partly pay for the device and services usage.

• It Improves Productivity: A considerable amount of research is going on BYOD. Several companies have already implemented BYOD and have seen a substantial improvement in the productivity of their workers. Since workers have the same facilities for both personal and professional use, they often prefer to spend time working at home.

• It Offers Versatility: BYOD has not only blurred the distinction between work and personal life. It has also blurred the spatial boundaries. BYOD has made it simpler to do business with people irrespective of their geographical locations. It might not be a perfect solution to solve the geographic issue, but it’s certainly a good start for employees to take their home business call from overseas.

• Improved Employee Loyalty: Clearly, BYOD a Win-Win strategy will increase employee loyalty by enabling employees to manage their own job. Your employees will be inspired, as they don’t have to choose between their personal & office computers to carry out office work. Instead of struggling with technical problems with their corporate devices, employees are happier to use the same device.

• Lesser Security Risks: When a company has a well-planned & enforced BYOD strategy, it will store its critical business data in the cloud. And all of the personal devices connected will act as terminals for accessing allocated files or directories. That implies that personal devices are merely instruments for accessing information. In the event of any computer misuse or failure, the company can disable access to the system. This is extremely stable.

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However, to be successful with a BYOD policy, your company needs to have the proper practices in place. The company as well as its workers need to realize the risks of letting an employee-owned computer or corporate work is used.

Below we listed the six primary criteria for effective policy on BYOD.

Clear Rules for Employees

BYOD doesn’t mean that employees can just immediately start using their personal devices for business tasks. The organization needs to outline the process for authorizing an employee’s computer for corporate uses while developing the BYOD policy. The organization must thoroughly inspect a product before it can be introduced into the sector. The approval process will evaluate the current security status of the device, determine the operating system’s reliability, and install a mobility management agent on the device.

Managing Access

You do not want any user to access your devices and resources for a BYOD program unless they are allowed to. Your BYOD policy will specify guidelines for identity and access management to ensure that only approved users are able to access a computer and the data within it. Alongside other authentication mechanisms such as biometrics and transaction checks, solid passwords should be enforced at the base level.

Employee Management Obligations

Under a BYOD plan, the user is in charge of managing their mobile devices, rather than the IT department. This frees the IT workers’ time so they can concentrate on other, more important activities. Companies may counter this by allowing devices to be modified and accounted for, with strict sanctions in effect if such requirements are not met.

Mandatory Security Policies

Your users can often be your company’s biggest security threat and this also holds true for BYOD policies. When your organization implements a BYOD program it needs to facilitate safe and secure use of the software by developing compulsory security policies. These policies should include not connecting to public WiFi and installing only trusted applications to a device. If applicable, the BYOD policy will provide penalties for failing to obey such protocols, or incentivize users who faithfully comply.

Privacy of Employee

When you enforce a BYOD policy in your business, your employees will be worried about their personal privacy. They might feel like a BYOD program is an excuse for your organization spying on its customers, or accessing personal data stored on their phones. That’s not the case, of course — but you need to express it to your employees. In particular, if you are installing an EMM solution to help manage devices, your company must address employee concerns regarding data privacy.

Protection against Lost or Stolen Devices

You never want to think of it happening, but in the case of a BYOD device being lost or stolen, it needs a mechanism in place. Users need to report a lost/stolen device to your business as soon as possible; reducing the time between missing a device and learning about it reduces the time it takes for a device with sensitive data to be exposed to harmful actors. Many mobility management tools do have apps for geographical location, so you can monitor devices that get lost.

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BYOD stands for “Bring Your Own Device” for those who might not already be familiar with it, and it applies to the practice of enabling workers to bring and use their own computing/mobile devices—smartphones, tablets, laptops, etc.—within the office to be used for work purposes, including allowing them to link to the secure network of a company with these devices.

Looking at surveys, most organizations around the world have allowed BYOD to take advantage of what it provides to some degree. These include maintaining employee satisfaction, reducing the cost of infrastructure, increasing quality, and opening up opportunities to innovate. Nevertheless, BYOD’s growing popularity can be difficult to secure remote work, as transferring corporate data to the cloud is a dicey business when data is not adequately secured.

The myriad use of smart devices such as smartphones, tablets, and wearables by employees also paves an entry point for cybercriminals to exploit and hack systems designed to target corporate data. Several businesses have seen a lack of visibility in even simple mobile applications like email, according to a survey. So, organizations need to understand and monitor user behavior at all endpoints to safeguard BYOD. And if they don’t, companies are vulnerable to unauthorized data sharing, malevolent access, and unable to recover or delete downloaded data from devices lost or stolen.

Here are some of the top security techniques businesses can use to secure BYOD.

Mobile Device Management (MDM)

The management of mobile devices is used to describe the administration of mobile devices. Imposing security controls around the business-owned computers is usually preferred by large corporations. MDM incorporates the process of introducing, monitoring, securing, integrating, and managing devices in the workplace, allowing companies to achieve their organizational network while maximizing mobile app features. But, if the right resources are not in the right place, it can be challenging and time-consuming for a business.

Mobile Application Management (MAM)

Mobile application management software helps businesses to introduce and execute business policies on mobile devices. Unlike MDM, MAM generally focuses on protecting enterprise-provided applications involving confidential data. It offers a more granular way for IT managers to monitor and secure business data that is essential to BYOD. Since bringing your own device framework has increasingly paved the way for organizations, MAM is sometimes used to secure access to mobile data. Despite this, it has its own drawbacks, since it does not protect, some prominent cloud apps like Gmail, Dropbox, Slack, among others.

Agentless Mobile Security

Agentless mobile security solutions secure the data without having to install something on an employee device. Such systems have the potential to provide MDM functions such as data loss prevention and the remote wiping of business records. Companies such as Bitglass, which is an agentless CASB (Cloud Access Security Broker) provides organizations with full visibility and control over their data, even when accessed from personal devices. CASB is a policy implementation point that includes data protection on any system, anywhere in the cloud. As cloud services and BYOD usage grow, the prevalence of agentless solutions will also continue to increase.

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