Ask the Experts: What are the best practices for our Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) strategy?
Topics: BYOD Mobile StrategyBYOD isn’t something new in business, however it’s prevalence is growing. From remote workers and road warriors to on-call employees supporting customer needs around the clock, BYOD has helped many companies enhance their efficiency and better serve their customers. Even though most companies already have a BYOD strategy in place, we’re often asked:
What are the best practices for getting the most out of our BYOD strategy?
For the answer, we turn to Vox Mobile’s BYOD expert, Bonnie Bray.
Answer: This is a great question. First, know that software and people are not the answer to having an effective BYOD strategy. Many people think that once they have a Mobile Device Management (MDM) solution then their BYOD will just take care of itself. And with the expanding mobile workforce, a lot of companies believe that hiring more people to manage their growing BYOD needs will do the trick.
What you really need is a well-thought-out BYOD policy. A lot of companies have a BYOD program in place but no policy to govern that program. Having a policy in place lets you take back control over your BYODprogram instead of it having control over your business.
A BYOD policy can save you from headaches—governance, financial, security, device management—that you’ll surely encounter as the amount of employees utilizing BYOD grows. That’s where Vox Mobile can help. I work with my clients to help them think through each part of their mobility strategy so they can develop an effective policy. I start by asking them these six questions:
- Is it a good business decision to formalize your BYOD program?
We take a look at mobile carrier and hardware costs, recommendations for having a BYOD program, stipends versus carrier costs, and if will it improve the end-user experience or hinder it. After this first question, some businesses choose a corporate-liable program instead, which Vox Mobile can also help you effectively maintain.
- Who is going to be the owner of the program?
Most think it’s IT’s responsibility, but that’s not the case. It takes a cross-functional team to figure out your policies since there are a lot of stakeholders when it comes to BYOD. It’s best to get everyone on the same page contributing to the policy agreement and ensuring that all the responsibility doesn’t fall on just one department.
- Who should be eligible?
The answer to this question will help you determine BYOD vs. Corporate liable vs. Hybrid approach. Most companies have a hybrid program since there are some roles within the company that will benefit from BYOD and other roles that are better off with corporate-owned devices. For instance, managers, supervisors, and road warriors are prime candidates for BYOD with stipends, while executives, international travelers, and those that are on-call are best on a corporate plan.
- What about an acceptable-use policy?
You may already have an acceptable-use policy whereby you define the parameters for access to your corporate data. That’s great, but have you looked at it lately, and have you had an expert look at it to see if there may be any gaps? Vox Mobile can help you build a strong acceptable-use policy from start to finish or go through your existing policy to see if there are any gaps that need to be fixed.
- What about managing onboarding and offboarding?
There are several steps to a successful onboarding of a new employee, or an employee new to BYOD. Having a clearly defined policy in place makes it easy to get employees up and running on their mobile devices. Vox Mobile can help you map out your onboarding process, and provide a combination of asset management and managed services to handle all the moving parts of your mobile device management to ensure your end users have a streamlined experience.
Offboarding is just as important to protect the integrity of your company’s data. When an employee leaves the company, even if it was amicable, their devices should be immediately wiped removing all corporate data, apps, and access.
- How often should we update our policy?
Optimally every couple of years since technology changes so fast. Once you have a solid BYOD policy in place, it shouldn’t take you very long to update it to include new mobile technology, new business needs, or new user terms.
Vox Mobile can help you drive mobility efficiency regardless of who owns the device or who’s paying for the carrier. Whether you have a BYOD, Corporate liable, or Hybrid plan, we can help you get the most of out your mobility.
Have other questions about BYOD or your company’s MDM solution? Vox Mobile’s team of experts has the answers.