Study examines expressed sentiment toward BYOD

Amongst the major trends currently populating the corporate sphere, BYOD is arguably one of the most interesting. An abbreviation for "Bring Your Own Device," the combination of mobile technologies with remote data access enables employees to access privileged business information such as servers and email on the go.

While the practice certainly sounds enticing in theory, a British telecommunications company recently undertook a study of 2,000 IT users in 11 different countries to measure the expressed feeling toward conducting core business processes via laptops, smartphones and tablets.

Interestingly, many of the measured results were positive. For example, 80 percent of the respondents suggested that those companies that have deployed a BYOD strategy have a competitive advantage over those that do not. Additionally, more than 60 percent mentioned that staff were positioned to be more productive without the rigidity of stationary PCs. 

However, some of the respondents also gave pause in their enthusiasm for BYOD as the high level access and permissions on devices easily lost or stolen presents a significant security issue.

But, according to Neil Sutton of the researching organization: "IT security has always been about a blend of people, policy, process and technology, and the right blend is even more critical in a BYOD world. Rather than being perceived as a barrier to agility or flexibility, security can act as an enabler which improves an organization's ability to adapt to the BYOD trend."

In response, it would be wise for business officials in Ohio interested in experimenting with BYOD to partner with a Cincinatti IT consulting firm that can provide cloud computing solutions to facilitate remote access and network security solution to help mitigate associated security concerns.

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