What do start-ups need to know about the growth of BYOD?

by Startacus Admin

What do start-ups need to know about the growth of BYOD?

Any business which has just begun or is about to start trading will probably welcome any opportunities to save money. Technology is among the biggest expenses any new business will face, but allowing new employees to use their own devices for work instead of a business laptop or tablet could be much easier and, when watching the pennies, cheaper.

A decent tablet or laptop will probably cost upwards of £200. For several employees, the costs will stack up, while a significant number of workers are receptive to the idea of using their own device for work, even outside office hours. A recent survey of office workers throughout the UK discovered that 45% would feel obliged to work in their spare time with their own device.

Working on the move

For start-ups anxious about meeting deadlines, BYOD could be something of a godsend. The same survey found that 59.3% of those willing to work in their spare time would do so from home, while 42.2% would do so while commuting to work. Even more encouragingly, 38.8% would work with their own device during their lunch hour, just to be on the safe side.

Working outside office hours might seem a little unnatural to some people, but it is gradually becoming a fact of working life. Indeed, new legislation set to be introduced from June 30 will automatically allow anyone who has been in the same role with the same company for a minimum of six months the right to ask to be able to work using flexible hours.

Safety first

On the whole, BYOD is something that could bring numerous benefits to start-ups, but there are one or two issues which may need addressing before allowing workers to use their own devices for work purposes. Drawing up a BYOD policy is a must, asking everyone in the company to be responsible when using their devices with everything from data to communication via emails.

Something else which has to be addressed is security. The main risk associated with BYOD is that if a personal device used for company work is infected with malware, then it could spread throughout the network, causing untold damage which may cost thousands of pounds to repair. To ensure this doesn’t happen, putting security at the heart of a BYOD policy would be hugely helpful.

Telling workers to keep their personal devices safe through using trusted security software is important. Also, putting restrictions on what they can and can’t access or share via personal devices can minimise the risks involved with BYOD. Once this is done, then start-ups will be ready to make the most of this trend.       

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Published on: 3rd June 2014