Mobile & Wireless Slideshow: Gartner BYOD Study Explores Strategies and Costs

All About Mobility

Wondering why BYOD is happening now and at such an alarming rate? According to Gartner, it all comes down to mobile devices. Over half of U.S. adults own a smartphone and they want to use them for work.

Prosumer

Gartner argues that in years past there was a strong distinction between enterprise-grade and consumer-grade devices. Nowadays, not so much. These product similarities have helped BYOD thrive.

Security Policies

Gartner discovered that IT best bet for managing BYOD is to combine key elements in policy, software, and infrastructure controls to ensure security. Educating employees on the rules is also helpful.

Legal Issues

Gartner advises IT to work with both human resources and the legal department to manage BYOD policies and enforcement.

Everybodys Doing It

CIOs believe 38 percent of their workforce will be using personal devices at work by the end of this year, according to a recent Gartner survey.

Not PCs

BYOD right now primarily involves smartphones and tablets. Less than 5 percent of companies say that they allow employee-owned PCs in the office, according to Gartner.

Cost Reduction

BYOD can help reduce costs in some cases, Gartner found. In a 500-person company, offering up BYOD can reduce total costs by 29 percent, according to the research firm.

Total Cost of Ownership

That said, costs can rise in BYOD environments, often matching the cost of providing employer-purchased products. Factors that can elevate BYOD costs include international travel, global employees, and a heavy reliance upon custom mobile applications.

Happy Workers

Hidden benefits of BYOD include improved employee satisfaction, expansion of mobile users, and the ability to quickly adapt to the changing times.

BYOD for Some

Gartner urges companies to keep this in mind: BYOD might be right for your company, but it might not be right for all employees.