BYOD? More like CYOD as companies still set the parameters

Worry about what you say on email

In an interesting test case in California, a worker is reported to be suing her former employer for invasion of privacy and wrongful termination of employment.

The person claimed they were sacked after deleting an app (Xora iPhone app) from her company-issued handset that she believed allowed her employer to spy on her. She claims the app tracked where she was – using the device GPS – including how fast she was driving, even when she wasn’t working.

Things aren’t much better from the employer’s perspective when it comes to device strategies.

It’s commonly held that relying on staff to shoulder the cost and effort of bringing devices to work is cheaper than the firm shelling out as it doesn’t have to purchase, maintain and insure the device. But this isn’t necessarily the case.

But employee-owned devices often have a similar total cost of ownership as corporate owned, and will only offer savings where the company offers partial or no reimbursement for bills. Gartner believes tablets might offer better savings.

It estimates the direct costs of user-owned tablets to an organization are 64 per cent lower than company-owned tablets. IT leaders can spend half a million dollars to buy and support 1,000 enterprise-owned tablets, but it can support 2,745 user-owned tablets with that same budget.

Further, device strategies soak up such a huge investment in complex systems required for support that this can wipe out cost savings on the device. Gartner suggests investments are mostly directed towards mobile device management (87 per cent), general infrastructure expansion (84 per cent) and file share and sync (80 per cent).

And, reimbursing employees can be more costly as employees, as consumers, won’t get the same deals as a corporate could demand for its bulk purchases.

Another major concern (PDF) is security. Careless employees are seen as a greater threat to security than cybercriminals with 42 per cent of firms claiming to have experienced a mobile security incident that had cost more than $250,000 (£161,000).

Research also suggests many businesses who allow employees to use personal devices in the workplace do not have robust device-centric policies or security in place. Arlington Research/Acronis reckons 40 per cent of UK businesses have no security or policies in place to prevent unauthorised employees from accessing what they shouldn’t. Forty per cent of respondents also admitted having no policy in place to specify how employees should use their own personal devices in work.

Underlying this is the loss of control over IT in the workplace. Native mobile email clients and web browsers, file sharing services such as Dropbox, and mobile calendaring apps all serve important user needs but they invite security breaches and complicate life for IT.

They also often lack key enterprise features necessary for full productivity.

Jason Tooley, Citrix UK managing director, reckons mobility is one of the main drivers of shadow IT and now is the time for firms to get a grip it.

He recommends organisations evaluate their data to find out what they have and where it lives, and then apply security features accordingly. Also, they must educate staff about how to use their mobile devices and advise on what do to if a device is stolen or is compromised.

BYOD has failed to match up to the reality. It’s just not feasible for IT departments to secure and support more than a handful of different types of mobile devices accessing corporate systems – hence CYOD. Yet, even with CYOD, the advantages for employer and employee aren’t clear-cut or universal.

Giving employees meaningful access to systems beyond the basics of email, calendar and contacts, via personal devices, takes bespoke development and integration, additional security and device management with a policy on use.

And these things don’t come by simply by putting a handset on a list of approved products. ®