The modern workplace has drastically changed in recent years. In our post-pandemic world, businesses are still settling into the surge in digitalization, remote work uptake, and the establishment of new hybrid work environments. And as mobility takes the forefront of most business spaces, employees’ efficiency, productivity, and growth largely rely on the strategies and approaches that businesses seek to stay afloat during this change.
This has pushed businesses of all kinds of backgrounds to consider BYOD (Bring your own Device) programs for their operations. BYOD simply means implementing a business strategy that allows employees to use their personal devices for work purposes.
The value of the BYOD market is predicted to reach about $367 billion by the end of 2022 and this trend will only accelerate to make the market worth $587.3 billion by 2030.1
The popularity of BYOD trends can be attributed to the opportunities it presents businesses to trim tech expenses by encouraging employees to use their own devices for work while simultaneously providing employees the flexibility to enjoy the convenience of having a single device for the combined purpose of personal and corporate use.
The culture of BYOD is even more generous towards SMEs (Small and Medium-sized Enterprises) who embrace it. Out of all the reasons to consider a Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) approach for SMEs, the most obvious is that it is much cheaper. With no need for hardware and software investments, you can slash your expenses and save on your operating costs. This means less money spent on hiring IT support staff, investing in training, or outsourcing IT services. This not only provides a clear financial upside for small and medium-sized enterprise owners with tight budgets but also improves the productivity and efficiency of their employees.
So Then Why Do Most BYOD Programs Fail?
- In a report by Social Barrel, it emerged that BYOD programs are highly unregulated. 17.7% of survey respondents admitted their IT admins are unaware they take their own devices to work, while 28.4% of IT departments actively ignore BYOD policies.2
- A report by Zippia states that only 39% of organizations actually have formal “bring your own device” policies in place.3
Although the benefits of a BYOD are obvious and businesses around the globe have adopted the practice— not all of them have completely figured out how best to integrate this into their business processes. For large enterprises, this kind of mismanagement of employee devices can be a small hiccup that can be fixed by the expertise of their high-level IT teams and software integrations. But it is a completely different story for small and medium-sized enterprises.
Neglect of employees’ personal privacy in BYOD practices can lead employees to dislike the trend instinctively, creating issues of transparency, employee retention, and satisfaction, which is a heavy price to pay for SMEs. There are also security concerns about the company’s confidential data and information being pooled with employees’ personal data which increases the risk of data breaches and cybersecurity threats that SMEs cannot overlook. Without proper BYOD policies in place, an SME is only one data leak away from losing all customer loyalty and trust that is built over the years.
The good news is that these are all solvable problems.
A successful BYOD program is a blend of corporate security and personal privacy. But to strike this balance, most SMEs cannot afford an elaborate team of IT professionals or high-end software that implements security measures and manage employee-owned devices. This is where we come in.
Auro24 For BYOD
Auro24 is an MDM ( Mobile Device Management) solution that is dedicated to Apple devices and addresses the shortcomings of BYOD to instill a sense of security over how your enterprise data is managed, accessed, and distributed. It delves into the main scrutiny of the BYOD trend and separates your corporate data from your employee’s personal data using containerization, adding an extra layer of security for corporate data stored in employee-owned devices. It works alongside User Enrollment by Apple to provide SMEs with the right toolbox to handle employee-owned Apple devices for work.
User Enrollment By Apple
Apple supports businesses and users that utilize apple devices for work with the help of the User Enrollment method that is built into iPhones and iPads.
In a nutshell, Apple’s User Enrollment is a method of creating a company-controlled Apple ID, similar to the personal iCloud account that users can create. Apple calls this the Managed Apple ID which is created by the Apple Business Manager and handled entirely by the company. It works the same as any other work-issued account, where the account IDs and credentials are shared with employees but the authority to manage the account stays with the company. The Managed Apple IDs when logged into their personal accounts create a separate account that is dedicated to work and is separated from the employee’s personal account. From the Managed Apple IDs, the company cannot access or delete any personal data and information. They can only exercise control over Managed apps, files, calendar attachments, emails, keychain data,etc.
The Managed Apple ID when coupled with an Apple-specific MDM solution like Auro24, can help businesses harness the advantages of mobility and make the most out of their BYOD approach.
To facilitate a BYOD policy that works for your employees carrying Apple devices, Auro24 offers:
- Bulk enrollment of multiple devices over the air, ensuring all employee-owned devices instantly sync with corporate security policies.
- Centralized management of all personally-owned devices that are utilized remotely or inside the office premises.
- Configuration of security policies like encryption, password protection, and kiosk lockdown mode.
- Remote data wipeout to easily erase corporate data from personal devices when an employee leaves the organization or protect the data should the device be lost or stolen.
- Restrictions to access personal data by IT personnel to protect user privacy.
- App management over the air without end-user interaction or the need for personal Apple IDs.
BYOD can benefit both employees and the company as a whole, by reducing the need for IT resources, cutting down costs, and improving the productivity of employees. While it might seem like a no-brainer for SMEs, it can still be a challenge to implement. Without robust MDM security measures in place, BYOD can quickly miss the mark and turn into a headache for your small or medium-sized business. For this, Auro 24 has hit the nail on the head by providing a user-friendly approach for businesses to be smart about how employees carry your corporate data in their personal devices. This is as easy as it gets, so what’s the wait for?
