5 Tips For A Successful BYOD Environment

BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) environments are becoming increasingly popular with organizations and employees alike. And why wouldn’t they? After all, they save the company from having to purchase devices for each employee, and employees generally prefer to use their own devices. Not only that, they already have them—according to some estimates, there will be 2 billion Smartphone users by the end of 2015. Finally, mobile internet is almost everywhere now, thanks to these devices. However, BYOD environments can go wrong if organizations don’t go about them in the right manner. Here are five tips for creating and maintaining a successful BYOD environment.

1. Implement a BYOD Acceptable Use Policy

So, your network already prevents users from going to Facebook or Reddit from their desks, but it obviously isn’t going to be able to do that on employee’s personal mobile devices. That doesn’t mean you have to give up all control, however; in fact, it’s important you don’t. Create an acceptable use policy which applies only when the employee is connected through the organization’s VPN.

2. Require Device Security

Employees don’t like using lock screens, and when they do use them, they tend to opt for four digit pin numbers. This simply isn’t secure enough. Require that any device permitted on the company’s VPN be password protected, to add another layer of protection should the device be lost or accessed by someone else.

3. Clearly Communicate Which Devices are Permitted

Be clear from the beginning what devices will be allowed on the company’s network, including operating systems and hardware. You may also wish to control the number of mobile devices which can access the network per employee—the fewer you have to deal with, the better.

4. Managing Remote Wipes

Ideally, your employees should connect through a virtual workspace which prevents information from being stored on their devices, but this isn’t always practical. As a result, you’ll need to be clear with employees who use their own devices on the network about the potential for remotely wiping the phone. Counsel employees on the importance of backing up their personal data, photos, and files in the event that their phone must be wiped remotely to protect company data.

5. Set Up Policies for Employees who Leave the Company

Remote wiping isn’t the only issue organizations must deal with, when it comes to taking devices off the network. What measures will be taken when an employee leaves the company? There should be policies in place before the company has to consider this, because most employees aren’t going to consent to remote wiping should they decide to resign. In this case, there should be a clear plan in place for protecting the employee’s personal information, while ensuring that company data is completely removed from the phone and further access to the network is prevented.

BYOD security isn’t easy, but it’s getting easier as more companies adapt their IT security infrastructure to support the use of employee owned devices.