The new normal in the workplace has employees bringing devices to work in what’s known as “Bring Your Own Device” (BYOD). A recent Gartner study predicts that more than 50 percent of all companies by 2017 will mandate that employees bring and use their own devices on the job. The result will be lower company costs in technology tools, and a happier group of employees that doesn’t have to juggle several devices.
It’s Already Here
A recent Ovum study reported in ZDNet showed that employees are doing this to a certain degree. Fifty-six percent of 4,300 employees worldwide use their tablets and smartphones at work without any particular rule, sanction or policy from the companies or their IT departments. More than 33 percent of the employees surveyed used their devices even when a ban existed at work on such use.
How We Got Here
It all used to be so much easier, right? In the past, employers provided both a telephone and PC for employees’ to do their work. Among the more popular work devices was the enterprise-provided Blackberry, which gave busy executives the perfect tool to dash off quick messages while traveling in between countries. As personal iPhone and Android models started to show up in the hands of business people over the last few years, Blackberry has needed to adapt to the need to bring a personal touch to the business experience of older company-provided models.
What We’re Doing Here
The new Blackberry Q10 features the Blackberry Balance, which gives users the opportunity to switch between a work platform and a personal platform. It has not been easy for dedicated Blackberry users to mix the work apps they need and personal apps they want. BlackBerry responded to users by creating Balance. Users can switch effortlessly between work and personal items, giving users a combined all in one device for work and play.
Where we’re Going
Look to more BYOD activities in medium-to-large enterprises over the next few years. IT Departments have their work ahead to manage this shift in how employees and company IT services might co-exist, for the good of both employee usability and corporate security. The Gartner report indicates those companies most eagerly using a BYOD approach for work would include companies with sales ranges of $500 million to $5 billion, and employee counts of anywhere between 2,500 to 5,000.
