What is a Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) Policy?

Bring-your-own device (or “BYOD”) policies are gaining in popularity, especially with fast-growing companies and start-ups that have embraced a remote or hybrid workplace model. By definition, BYOD means that a company allows employees to use their own devices—such as a phone, computer, laptop, or tablet—for business purposes instead of requiring them to use company-owned devices.

While the popularity of BYOD practices significantly increased during the COVID-19 pandemic, this approach continues to be a smart choice for companies with in-person and remote workers. BYOD is also a huge perk for workers and can help reduce the learning curve for onboarding new hires. If done properly, implementing a BYOD policy can be a win for companies, employees, and clients alike.

How Does BYOD Work?

To implement an effective BYOD policy, it’s essential to safeguard your company and your employees by setting clear expectations around using non-company-sponsored devices. Having clear rules around a BYOD policy can ensure company-wide compliance that allows employees to be more efficient, as well as enable you to safeguard sensitive and/or proprietary information.

Here is a checklist of steps to consider when rolling out a BYOD plan for your organization:

Create established security guidelines.

• Implement security controls with data encryption and define parameters for password strength.
• Determine what data types can be stored on devices (if any).
• Decide on timeout and auto-lock controls.
• Choose mobile device management (MDM) software to download on BYOD devices to ensure compliance with security guidelines.

Outline acceptable use.

• Clearly explain the types of compatible devices or those permitted for use on work-related projects.
• Communicate which applications employees are to use (and not use) during business activities and when connected to a company VPN.
• Explain the consequences of storing or sending illicit or inappropriate content via BYOD equipment.

Understand how MDM and BYOD work together.

• MDM Software allows you to monitor, manage, and configure both BYOD and company-sponsored devices remotely from a single platform.
• Use an MDM to conduct automatic scans of BYOD devices to ensure security guidelines are upheld.
• An MDM can also facilitate the remote installation of company-approved applications, software, and hardware updates.
• MDMs can help reduce the risk of sensitive information being shared, allowing administrators to remotely wipe or lock lost, stolen, or compromised devices.

Design an exit plan.

• Create a BYOD management plan for employees who leave the company.
• Disable company accounts (email, messaging platforms, password changes) remotely and on demand.

Knowing the effective steps to implementing a BYOD policy is instrumental in establishing a safe and secure pathway for employees to use personal devices for work.

Benefits and Challenges of Using BYOD

Like any policy surrounding tech devices, implementing a BYOD policy has benefits and challenges. As long as you know the risks and how to minimize them, the benefits can be significant for companies of all sizes.

Benefits

There are several reasons why adopting a BYOD policy can be attractive for your organization – and employees. Some of the benefits of a company-wide BYOD policy include:

Enhanced Productivity

Employees who use personal devices that they’re familiar with can work more efficiently and effectively. Allowing them to use devices of their choosing reduces the need and learning curve involved with training them on unfamiliar devices. In turn, this reduces onboarding time and the risk of user errors. When employees work on devices they’re already used to, they can better focus on productive tasks instead of wasting time figuring out unfamiliar applications or complicated platforms.

Cost Savings

A BYOD policy reduces the financial overhead associated with company-provided devices and maintenance. All software and platform management is performed remotely, so there is zero need for shipping time and cost for company-provided hardware.

Improved Employee Satisfaction

When employees are more familiar and comfortable using their own devices, it not only allows them to be more productive, but can also lead to higher job satisfaction and morale. By reducing frustration that can stem from working with clunky or outdated hardware, or with machines that aren’t as intuitive for tasks an employee needs to perform, a BYOD policy allows employees to focus on the work itself and not struggling against technology.

Challenges

The flip side of every reward also has its risks. While a BYOD policy can have numerous benefits, you’ll want to put a plan in place to offset some of its associated challenges.

Security Risks

Without a reliable company-wide solution to help safeguard sensitive information, an improperly implemented BYOD policy can increase the risk of data breaches and malware due to varied security standards on personal devices. Using public or unsecured Wi-Fi networks can also pose a security risk.

Data Privacy Concerns

Balancing company access to devices while respecting employee privacy can be challenging. Since other family members may also use personal devices, company data could also become compromised.

Compliance Issues

Ensuring all devices comply with industry regulations and company policies can be difficult to apply across different kinds of devices, all working remotely. This cumbersome task can become overwhelming for smaller IT departments for growing businesses.

Software Compatibility

Ensuring all necessary enterprise applications are compatible with various personal devices and operating systems can quickly become burdensome and difficult to monitor. Constantly ensuring all BYOD devices are up-to-date can also prove difficult.

BYOD Security Measures

Because of the security risks associated with BYOD policies, companies may want to consider varying levels of access and security for all personal devices, especially for organizations in industries that must adhere to rigid levels of regulatory compliance, such as healthcare and finance.

In some cases, employees may be allowed complete access to all company files, regardless of whether they use a company-provided device or their own. In other cases, layers of secure protection must be put in place. Government and financial organizations should consider added security precautions to further guard against cyberattacks.

The three levels of access for employees working on BYOD devices are:

• Level 1 - Basic access: Employees can only access their email and calendar apps.
• Level 2 - Controlled access: Employees can access limited company data and applications on personal devices, as well as their own email and calendar apps. Workers can only access data that they own or is assigned to them.
• Level 3—Full access to all organization resources: Employees have unrestricted access to all company data.

In some instances, an organization will have different access permissions for employees based on their job description and files they may need to access to be productive. Miradore MDM solutions not only simplify device management, but also strengthen device security by safeguarding against unauthorized access and potential threats.

Miradore’s intuitive features allow you to protect your devices and data, maintaining informational integrity and confidentiality for your organization. Dashboards compile hundreds of data points about your devices into convenient reports and notifications, allowing you to take quick action, if needed. Miradore’s single-platform approach lets you easily deploy security updates or remotely lock or remote devices if lost or stolen.

Whether you’re a small start-up or a growing business, Miradore provides you with a single, easy-to-use platform that makes device management smarter and more scalable across various devices and operating systems.

BYOD Best Practices

BYOD policies can be a positive and productive shift for many companies. But before rolling out a BYOD model to your organization, there are several best practices to review to make sure it’s the right decision for your company. Taking both the benefits and challenges into consideration, there are some well-established best practices to keep in mind.

• Develop Comprehensive Security Policies: Establish clear security guidelines for device encryption, password strength, and usage. Ensure policies cover data protection, compliance, acceptable use, and an exit plan should an employee leave or be terminated. These guidelines protect both the company and its staff.
• Define Acceptable Use Guidelines: Clearly outline which applications and websites are permissible and specify the types of data that can be accessed and stored on personal devices. Be specific about what can be downloaded and what applications can be used during business activities. Be sure to have employees sign off on this policy, communicating their understanding and agreement.
• Implement Strong Authentication: Use multi-factor authentication (MFA) to enhance security and protect sensitive information accessed from personal devices. This is a critical step in protecting company data.
• Provide Technical Support: Offer robust technical support to help employees troubleshoot issues and ensure their devices remain secure and compliant. Provide onboarding and ongoing training to employees to keep expectations and usage clear and productive. Create a simple pathway for employees to reach IT support for any issues or complications.
• Consider Compensation and Reimbursement: Provide stipends or reimbursements for employees' data plans and compensate for work-related communications outside regular hours, if applicable. While this isn’t required, it helps employees view their personal devices as at least partially business-related, which can increase compliance overall.

Learn More About Miradore’s BYOD Solutions

Implementing a BYOD policy can give small and mid-size companies a flexible way to allow employees to work more comfortably and efficiently. Balancing productivity with data security, however, is critical. But you don’t have to figure it out on your own.

Miradore can help you manage a variety of employee devices – from laptops to tablets – for all major operating systems, including Apple, Android, and Windows.

Even if employees have a laptop or smartphone that doubles for both personal and business use, Miradore separates personal and work data on devices for added security. This containerization feature is called Work Profile on Android devices. By contrast, Apple/iOS devices do not need a separate Client because business and personal data are managed separately without having to split profiles, simplifying MDM for IT.

As your company grows, Miradore offers a reliable and scalable cloud-based mobile device management solution that can grow with you.

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