Anybody work in an environment that utilizes BYOD? By this, I mean they either expect you to bring in your own computer device or give you the option.
I'm very curious as to how these companies handle support of these devices. For example
Hardware support: If the device breaks, and you cannot work, who pays for the repair?
Software/Security support: Are you required to run certain security apps (like AV, etc)?
How do you deal with internal applications and whether or not they run on the configuration of the computer?
How do you handle software compliance and licensing? If the employee has a ton of pirated software, how as a business do you protect yourself against this?
These are just a few of the things that I have thought of with this concept of supplying your own device. I'm sure there are many more concerns.
This is how it works for my wanting to use my iPhone:
I can get my email. If I have problems, it's my responsibility to fix it. They provide zero support. I have to have a pass code.
When it comes to my laptop: macbook pro: AD is a no go since AD is not in OS X. If I ran a Windows VM, I could join via AD and be required to have a password and allow SCCM to push Endpoint 2012 and required updates. I also would require AD admin accounts to be added for remote wipe and lockdown if necessary. This isn't unlike a lot of large corporations that run AD and System Center.
I've worked (as a consultant) on quite a few VDI/BYOD scenarios the last year or so, and some go off well (and some don't). However, in the true BYOD scenario, the following is true:
Hardware support: If the device breaks, it was yours. Companies may or may not have loaners for people on short notice, but the device is yours and needs fixing under the warranty your device manufacturer provides you as part of the sale (if one exists).
Software/Security support: Given most BYOD scenarios are not full work environments, but usually VDI or terminal services for the core corp apps (installing what's left on your own machine, if any), this isn't really much an issue. However, if this is a "you bring the device, we'll give you the installers" environment, this gets tricky, messy, expensive, and these are the scenarios where we find it just "doesn't work" long term. Woe be to you if this is the organization's desired scenario, in my many experiences with this choice. Ultimately, the IT staff will still end up having to manage something - either it'll be random software on random devices, or crap going on past your devices and on the network or server endpoints (because of said configuration, there's no real way to know/plan for issues, bugs, etc).
Internal Apps: Again, as with the previous statement, most organizations provide a VDI / Terminal Services environment for people to connect into for at least the base / core of the app stack. If not, it's a hodge-podge and IT will have to lay down some guidelines for what's allowed with BYOD - otherwise, you end up with lots of interspersed virtual machines running some variant of some OS that runs <x> because it won't run natively, and that usually costs some money as well. As to piracy, well, unfortunately, BYOD opens you up to this. You either control the endpoint, or you don't, and there are consequences to each. BYOD just shifts issues from one part of IT to another, it really doesn't do anything to make things better (or, to be fair, worse).
I've also worked on a few (lately) CYOD (choose your own device) solutions lately, where the organization provides users a (usually quite wide) range of hardware and software choices for their next corporate PC or Mac, which works better - it's more expensive up front (BYOD is usually chosen to save up-front hardware costs under the guise of choice), but it tends to be cheaper to support and maintain going forward, whilst still providing a semblance of the choice users tend to like about BYOD solutions.
Yeah. They're stingy, but stuff is provided. I wish I could use my own devices, exclusively, though. I'd much rather use my MBP with a couple monitors on it than what I use now (HP Z400 and Asus UX31A).