A new report says 2012 could be the year for companies to embrace a "bring your own device" (BYOD) philosophy.
Good Technology, a provider of secure and managed enterprise mobility for leading smartphone platforms, has released new data that shows a rise in the number of BYOD programs around the globe, across a wide variety of industries.
The continuing, rapid spread of smartphone and tablet adoption among consumers has forced IT departments to take action, developing policies that allow employees to use their own devices to access confidential enterprise data and information. Good Technology surveyed its clients to determine how they adapt policies in support of employee mobility and found that:
- Highly regulated industries embrace BYOD: Large companies from the finance/insurance and health-care industries dominate the overall BYOD picture, with retail/wholesale and government less likely to support BYOD.
- Big companies get BYOD: 80 percent of those supporting BYOD have more than 2,000 employees; 60 percent have more than 5,000 employees; and 35 percent have more than 10,000 employees.
- Employees are willing to pay for personal choice: Half of companies with BYOD models are requiring employees to cover all costs, and their users are taking them up on the offer; 45 percent provide their employees with a stipend or "expense back" options to help subsidize the cost of their mobile device or service plan.
- Offering BYOD stipend increases: Companies that offer BYOD stipends have the highest rate of employees using mobile devices when compared to companies that require employees cover all BYOD costs themselves, or allow for expense-back of service plan costs, but limit to users with management pre-approval.
- BYOD Goes Global: Many believe that BYOD "doesn't work" outside the U.S. due to privacy laws or greater exposure to highly variable roaming costs. Good Technology data shows otherwise, with nearly half (45 percent) of respondents indicating they are deploying BYOD programs in multiple countries.
"Just as we saw last year, smartphones and tablets will be popular gifts this holiday season, and come January employees will bring these devices to work in droves," said John Herrema, SVP of corporate strategy at Good Technology. "The great news is that companies deploying Good can now confidently embrace this BYOD trend, boost employee productivity and satisfaction, reduce their overall mobility spending, and still satisfy even the most stringent security and compliance requirements."
