A radical change is sweeping across American workplaces: mobile technology is redefining the boundaries between work life, home life and play.
The “digital generation” is demanding more freedom and flexibility with their smartphones and tablet PCs in order to get their jobs done faster and more accurately both in the office and on the go. Whether their motivation is improving performance, enhancing personal convenience, or because employers are encouraging productivity enhancements, more people than ever are bringing their own devices (BYOD) to work.
A CDW survey of small business owners reported that as of late 2012, 89% of their employees use personally-owned mobile devices for work. And that trend is expected only to rise: a 2012 report by Juniper Research found the number of personally-owned smartphones and tablets used at work will double by 2014, from 150 million to 350 million globally. “The rise of bring your own device (BYOD) programs is the single most radical shift in the economics of client computing for business since PCs invaded the workplace,” according to Gartner, a leading technology research and advisory firm.
Introducing BYOD for You
I am excited to announce my new e-book, BYOD for You: The Guide to Bring Your Own Device to Work. You can read the book’s introduction (for free) and learn more about why this is such an important topic at the BYOD for You website, which is BYOD4u.com
Why did I write a book on BYOD for end users or the average employee?
There are plenty of technical articles, books and white papers on BYOD for enterprises architects, security geeks, technology experts, or others who implement policies for large enterprises. However, this is the first book that I know of that is written specifically for the employees who own the device. I wanted to take a different perspective and offer options for whatever situation the reader is currently in—from novice employees who quietly bring their own devices to work to smartphone gurus who have been bringing their own devices for a while.
What topics does the e-book cover?
After explaining some basic terms and concepts involved in bringing your own device to work, I cover the top areas that need to be thought through before an employee brings their own smartphone, tablet or other personal device to work. The topics include: assessing your own environment, work policies, security, privacy, mobile device management (MDM), financial aspects (show me the money), ethical considerations and how to develop your own personal BYOD plan.
How can you possibly provide advice for such a wide divergence in policies and end user work situations?
You can’t possibly address every situation or issue. I decided to create three different levels that I call “gold, silver, and bronze options” for each particular topic.
Recent surveys suggest that the majority of employees who currently bring their own device to work do not have (or are not aware of) their employer’s policy regarding BYOD. These end users have taken matters into their own hands in order to gain efficiency, ease of use or other personal and professional benefits. Typically, these staff feel as if they are on their own regarding security, privacy and other aspects of BYOD. The bronze options offer advice to this group in each critical area.
On the other extreme, the gold options are available to employees who work for companies with strong BYOD policies, full mobile device management technology (MDM) in place, financial incentives to bring their own device to work, and good training available to BYOD adopters.
Relevance to the Christian?
I see this BYOD trend gaining more traction around the world. Christians and others that want to connect their offline values to their online worlds need to think about how they are using technology both at home, at the office, at church, and even in family fun situations (such as playing video games). Just as we bring our talents, our character, our morals, and our faith with us to work, we need to think through how we are protecting our personal and company data, our privacy and our security when we use our own smartphones or tablet PCs in multiple settings.
There is even guidance in the book on how you can maximize the financial benefits and your career progression using BYOD at work. I’d love to hear your thoughts on BYOD.
Engage with BYOD for You
You can engage this BYOD topic in social media in the following ways: