So, you want to adopt BYOD?

"So, you want to adopt BYOD?"

Absolutely not. The only people who think BYOD is a good idea are company bosses looking to save money on hardware costs, or employees who really haven't thought it through properly. Don't do it.

BYOD is a great way for people to use the hardware they want to use
As long as the infrastructure is sound, then VDI/BYOD/etc. are extremely useful
If done properly, it can eliminate a large amount of down time.
Yes, the individual is responsible for their own hardware.
But, that generally is less an issue when most corporate hardware is refurbished 3+ year old trash.
Sorry, that is a fact, not opinion.

there are many advantages to BYOD/VDI/etc and some disadvantages
But the Advantages do in fact out weigh the disadvantages.

As long as it is done properly.

The number of people working in the field or from home is growing
There is a need for this tech, and we are headed this way in a big way.

How does any of that benefit the employees? I'm sure the novelty of showing off their new toy to other employees will soon wear off when something happens to it and the realisation sinks in that they need to buy a new machine to do their work, and it's coming straight out of their monthly wage.

I wonder whether people would be so keen if they were working in retail and their employers tried to get them to supply their own cash registers out of their own pocket and also pay for the repairs/replacements when they go wrong?

Not the same thing.

And, employers are not going to make you foot the entire bill.
They will give an allowance, what you spend over that is up to you.
Make sure you do your homework and get a good warranty and you shouldn't have any issues.

Go read some more about the whole idea behind it. Trust me, there is more to it than what you are stating.
It is not a screw the employee plan. Besides, the less overhead spent on certain IT provided things and support
may leave room for other incentives if you work for a decent company, if you don't, maybe it's time to look for a new place to work.

As a former dictator of IS (information systems (IT)) the only thing I would have to say is "No . . . . . . .way. If you really think about it is a bad idea. When something happens who do you think they are going to run to. . .that right. . .to the IT guys. . .like they don't have enough of a problem already. . .

It's all fine until you leave the company. Then they will want to wipe your phone so you don't take any precious company resources with you. My attitude has always been if you want to do more than call or text me then you supply the device. This also makes it easier to go dark when you go on vacation, etc.

Lee said:

As a former dictator of IS (information systems (IT)) the only thing I would have to say is "No . . . . . . .way. If you really think about it is a bad idea. When something happens who do you think they are going to run to. . .that right. . .to the IT guys. . .like they don't have enough of a problem already. . .

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This actually isn't that much of an issue. This is already done with email access. They have to sign an agreement stipulating their responsibilities and the IT's responsibilities. I can tell you it's not that much of an issue. Sorry, we don't support your personal devices or home network. Then How am I supposed to do my work. You will need to contact your Service Provider. This was all explained in the agreement that you signed. I have not experienced that much of an issue in support. They are made well aware of this and it get's handled if it gets out of hand.

mikeytg said:

It's all fine until you leave the company. Then they will want to wipe your phone so you don't take any precious company resources with you. My attitude has always been if you want to do more than call or text me then you supply the device. This also makes it easier to go dark when you go on vacation, etc.

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That is on the extreme, not every company will do that, or needs to, they just need to remove the policy's.
Second, when you start working for a company like that, you sign a non-disclosure agreement before you even start working.
So, weather you are using your equipment or theirs, doesn't matter, you are still responsible for it and the data. Especially once you take it off premises, so, in reality and the long run. VDI/BYOD/etc can create a more secure environment. Especially if users are not allowed, or do not need to save data to the hard drive.

I would kindly suggest some of you need to read up on the subject a little further.
I for one can tell you,, there are many who are eager for it,, not just management either.
There are many advantages as I stated.

This also makes it easier to go dark when you go on vacation, etc.

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That, doesn't make a single bit of difference.

I personally don't like this concept for a number of reasons

#1). You have to insure that the employees have AV and not infected machines
#2). You have to ensure that whatever they need is loaded and will load to their machines
#3). In the event that their hardware fails, whose responsibility is it? Is the employee required to maintain some sort of support agreement on their equipment, are they required to run right out and buy something new rather than just sit on their hands unable to work?
#4). In the event their personal devices are having a problem, and the IT guys are called in to work on it, if anything goes wrong does the employee hold the IT guy accountable for breaking their own personal device? For example, if it starts to blue screen, etc.
#5). Are the companies allowed to install management software on these devices so they can ensure patches are put in place? Even if you connect to a VDI, you still have an active machine on the local network that potentially puts the LAN at risk.
#6). Who is responsible in the event of a licensing issue? For example, if the employee is found to have non licensed (pirated) software on their machine, and the company is audited, who is responsible for paying that bill?
#7). If the employee wants to store porn or other stuff on their own personal device, what happens if that device is on the corporate network?

These are just a few things that concern me, right off the top of my head.

I think manufacturers want to push BYOD because IT departments learn how to do things efficiently. If you let a group of 500 people manage their own devices, they are each going to buy different services, plans, accessories warranties etc.

If IT does it, we buy in bulk, centralize management and shop for bulk rate discounts. You will also have a harder time getting us to sign up for BS warranty and "value added" plans we don't need.

ARC1020 said:

"So, you want to adopt BYOD?"

Absolutely not. The only people who think BYOD is a good idea are company bosses looking to save money on hardware costs, or employees who really haven't thought it through properly. Don't do it.

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Hi there
When I read this type of reply -- I say Oh dear - not again -- we'd all still be using the abacus if this type of answer was adopted.

I just wonder if people have ever worked in places where the equipment is SO OLD compared to what you have at home that it makes doing the job a load harder. - Yes of course it's more difficult for the I.T dept - but remember the I.T dept is merely the PROVIDER OF A SERVICE -- the USERS who use it are the people who generate the INCOME for the company.

Too often I.T depts. regard themselves as the most essential area of a business -- whereas in fact a business could (although with difficulty in most cases) actually run WITHOUT the I.T dept at all.

By using different devices (and trying out different software in some cases) a lot of innovation can be bought into a business.

It's not an easy job to implement BYOD but on the whoie if it's manageable it should be asttempted. By having say a logon to a Virtual server standard company software can be run on a whole slew of different devices.

A decent Virtual Infrastructure should protect the main corporate I.T systems against malware and illegal software attack / use.

Most of the objections can be dealt with quite easily -- remember also by using a Virtual Server / desktop concept the I.T dept will minimize any possible issues on the remote (i.e users) device.

Also if you are a travelling consultant - it's much better to be able to use ONE laptop than have to take TWO everywhere - the company one and yours.

Finally a lot of people work from home on at least one day a week - using home equipment saves all sorts of problems with supplying and maintaining central equipment.

Cheers
jimbo

jimbo45 said:

I just wonder if people have ever worked in places where the equipment is SO OLD compared to what you have at home that it makes doing the job a load harder.

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I personally haven't had that experience, but I can understand the concern. We've had older machines, but nothing horribly bad.

jimbo45 said:

- Yes of course it's more difficult for the I.T dept - but remember the I.T dept is merely the PROVIDER OF A SERVICE -- the USERS who use it are the people who generate the INCOME for the company.

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I think that is simplifying the role of IT just a little too much. At my place, IT can significantly impact the income coming into the business. Servers and storage don't manage themselves. Many of the systems including the CRM system and tie ins bring additional functionality that the employees otherwise wouldn't have without the IT group setting it up and supporting it. People in the business often have an idea or a thought, but no ability to bring it to fruition and that is what we often end up doing. And if we deploy poorly built and running servers, we can lose this income very easily.

jimbo45 said:

Too often I.T depts. regard themselves as the most essential area of a business -- whereas in fact a business could (although with difficulty in most cases) actually run WITHOUT the I.T dept at all.

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I'd like to see how these companies would do that. They would end up having to outsource all of the functionality that we provide. Contractors would have to be called in to build and deploy machines. Hosting companies would be charging additional money for the setup and configuration that the regular office staff wouldn't have a chance of completing on their own. I don't know many IT staff that aren't putting in 40 hours a week only to be behind on various tasks and projects. And we all know time is money, so you don't want employees sitting around waiting for a fix.

Hi there
yes of course things like CRM provide businesses with income (think of things like e-commerce / e-retail particularly and do need massive amounts of I.T support to get it working - but it's the FUNCTIONAL business analysts / entrepreneurs who conceive of the concept - while of course the I.T depts. turn the concept into reality.

A lot of I.T staff DO work long hours - and these days with a hideous amount of off-shoring -- maybe far too much IMO - with smaller and smaller salaries (I know some people whose daily rate is actually LOWER than it was in 2008 !!!!) - however it would seem easier on the whole to manage a unified Virtual desktop type of structure to which all sorts of device could be reliably connected to them.

This if managed correctly could save organisations 100,000's of Dollars, Roubles, Pounds, Euros etc etc - and of course people tend to like using their own gear.

For starters it saves me having to learn Ms Office in 15 different languages and have to struggle with unfamiliar keyboard layouts -- For non Native French speakers just try and get your hands around an AZERTY keyboard and type documents in ENGLISH for example.

Like everything else this policy needs careful consideration and isn't appropriate in all cases -- I'd imagine if you work for the CIA for example there might be problems with implementing a BYOD policy. However a blanket NO in all cases is also a typically BOVINE response too -- perhaps that's whats wrong with a lot of current businesses - too much quick decision making without digesting ALL the facts for analysing a complex problem.

Cheers
jimbo