5 BYOD Revelations You Should Know About

The mass of research on BYOD (bring your own device) is rightly done. It has hit offices in a global way. But popularity doesn't always mean effective. Should all companies implement this idea to increase productivity? If you are contemplating a BYOD policy for the mobile devices in your company, consider this info from Heather Clancy at smartplanet.com (who cites the findings of Forrester Research).

The Personal vs. Professional Line Is Blurry. Forrester says that 14% of mobile and personal computer devices are used ONLY for professional purposes. That means 60% of devices are used for personal and professional.

Personal Device + 2. For more than half of information workers, using three different devices for work is normal and a no-brainer.

Where is Microsoft? Microsoft is slipping in terms of operating system software-use. One-third of functioning mobile devices do not use Microsoft software. "Forrester predicts that Microsoft's share of mobile devices will slip below 50 percent by 2016."

Bring Your Own Favorite Device. The survey revealed that "one-quarter of the devices were not 'conventional' personal computers". That means that to BYOD does not mean you must conform to the norm. The IT team can test out new concepts.

Back Us Up. With all the hype of BYOD, only 6% of North American and European companies have promoted programs for it. Shockingly, that statistic was only 3% in 2010.

Clancy says, "All of the above will absolutely rewrite the rules of IT spending priorities during the next five years, so it probably is a good idea to reassess whether that budget is being dedicated."

The good news is that BYOD can help your employees be more productive and absolve you from hardware upgrades. But you may need to consider "putting a lot more money of [your] technology budget into updating, securing and setting access policies for all of these 'unmanaged' devices, in order to protect valuable intellectual property [assets] and confidential customer data."