Mobile use at work has been steadily creeping up over the last decade, and now mobile devices represent more of the endpoints in a company than computers and servers – approximately 60%.

The collaborative cloud applications and processes that companies rely on today, are built for mobile technology use, and often employees find mobile versions of apps easier and faster to use than a desktop version.

With smartphones and tablets taking on a large part of the workload these days, companies need to have clear management policies that are just as strong as those for computers.

The problem is that many companies have employees using their own personal devices to access work, but don’t have a clear strategy that covers things like security, device updates, and device access tracking.

Implementing a clear “bring your own device” (BYOD) policy and the tools needed to support it is vital to ensuring overall data and cyber security.

Here are some concerning statistics about the current state of BYOD:

Only 39% of companies have a formal BYOD policy, yet 87% of them rely on employees to use personal devices at work.
Over 50% of employees haven’t received any formal instructions on BYOD use at work.
Just 14% of companies have a prefered mobile security app for employees to use.

Avoid These Pitfalls When Implementing BYOD

When a BYOD plan is implemented well, IT Support company in the San Bernardino Valley, and the rest of the country, can save an average of $350 per year per employee over issuing company-owned devices.

Following are several common and costly mistakes to avoid so you can ensure your mobile use strategy is successful.

Not Establishing a Policy & Having Employees Sign It

If you just have an informal policy (or none at all) for mobile device use at your business, then you could end up with serious security issues.

For example, an employee that upgrades their phone and gives their old one to a family member, might not delete work files on the device first. Or a stolen mobile device without a screen lock, could result in a thief being able to access your cloud account data that the device was signed in to.

You should create a detailed employee mobile use policy that includes areas such as:

Security
Approved work apps
What to do if… (stolen, lost, no longer in use)
Required updates

The policy should be formalized by having employees review and sign it to ensure it’s been read and understood.

Not Managing Data Security with an MDM

A mobile device manager (MDM) is vital if you are implementing a BYOD policy. It allows you to track device access to company apps and have some security control over device access to your data.

Without any way to track mobile device access to your assets, you’re left in the dark about things like whether phones are using mobile security software or being updated regularly.

Using an application like Microsoft Intune (which is included in Microsoft 365 Business Premium) allows you to control the “work” areas of an employee’s mobile device through features like:

Remote wipe or lock
Automatic software updates
Remote installation of security software
Tracking of device access to company data/apps
Grant or revoke device access remotely

Not Setting a Specific Reimbursement for Personal Mobile Use

An important part of a BYOD policy especially if you are a Burbank legal firm that needs IT support should be formalized based on how much your business pays employees as reimbursement for using their mobile devices for work activities.

If you leave this up in the air, you can end up paying more than you need to or have employees that feel they’re being cheated. Formalizing the phone use reimbursement also gives employees an incentive to follow your mobile device use policies. If you still don’t have these policies, we can help you with our LA Law Firm IT Services And Support.

Mobile reimbursements to employees average between $30 to $50 a month for a majority of organizations.

Not Having an Offboarding Procedure for Devices

When an employee leaves or just upgrades their phone to a new version, if you don’t have an offboarding procedure, you could end up with major security issues due to apps on phones still being logged into company assets or work files being left on those devices.

You should have a device offboarding process in place that scrubs all company information from a device, including uninstalling the mobile device management app and any company-specific applications, and removing company contact lists and email addresses.

In the event of an employee unexpectedly quitting, it’s vital to have that MDM as a backup so you can lock a device out of company data that you may not have had a chance to offboard properly.

Put a Smart BYOD Strategy in Place with Neuron Computers

Don’t leave mobile device policies to chance! We can help you ensure your Los Angeles area business has the framework in place for a secure and productive mobile use strategy.

Managed IT Services Riverside CA