Employees like BYOD, saying it increases productivity and saves them about an hour per workday. They enjoy the convenience of using just one device, running the OS they prefer and set up how they like it. This minimizes the time and cost spent on training users to learn new platforms, a win for everybody.

However, these productivity gains only come if the policy is clearly understood by everyone in the company. Having a regularly updated written policy, which sets out concise instructions on permissions and restrictions, that employees read and sign when enrolling their devices is a great idea.

Users in a BYOD program expect to be able to use their personal devices for non-work use without systems getting in the way. They also expect that their personal privacy will be protected. In fact, research shows 57 percent of employees and 38 percent of IT professionals declined participation in BYOD programs to prevent employer access to their personal data.

BYOD comes with the same demands as managing any other part of your network, and some unique challenges as well; unlike securing a company’s desktops and laptops, a BYOD policy introduces many types of hardware with multiple configurations that a company must support to keep its employees’ data safe. Users will only adopt BYOD for flexibility and organizational agility if the measures taken to protect their devices are understood and accepted. 

BYOD policies opens up a company to a huge range of security risks. With the increased penalties for data leaks and breaches, the balancing act of maintaining security while promoting flexibility is a very fine one, but not impossible. 

Users must be trained to be essential components of BYOD security. With the right approach, they can see cybersecurity as something they do and take ownership of, not something inconvenient that is done to them. To promote this proactive approach to security, users can be incentivized to report any potential risks they identify, both in their own devices and in suspicious activity they see.

Supplement this with collaboration systems that support confidential document management and sharing, along with secure messaging. These best in class systems provide the right level of security and transparency to keep the business and its data safe, while enjoying the full benefits of an effective BYOD policy.