Bring your own device (BYOD) is a contemporary buzz word within new age enterprises that are looking forward to keep pace with the change in employee’s lifestyle of “being mobile” and “being connected though one or more mobile devices”.

1. BYOD: The Makeshift Technology for
Professional & Personal Lifestyle
By
Sohag Sarkar
Overview
Bring your own device (BYOD) is a contemporary buzz word within new age enterprises that are looking
forward to keep pace with the change in employee’s lifestyle of “being mobile” and “being connected
though one or more mobile devices”. It describes the policy of permitting employees to bring personally
owned mobile devices (laptops, tablets, and smart phones) to their place of work and use those devices
to access privileged company information and applications. Bring your own Technology (BYOT) is a
similar terms used in this context. In India, 50% of the employees are designated as mobile workforce i.e.
they are working away from a traditional office setup; while a whopping 60% bring a mobile device for
work. The average number of mobile device per employee is on the rise; and expected to be more than 3
by 2014. Adoption of BYOD would be one critical factor to add further fillip to this growth.
Understanding the BYOD Business Drivers
To understand the present as well as future adoption of BYOD within an enterprise, one must introspect
into its key business drivers. BYOD offers promising value to both employee as well as employer:
 Enhanced User Experience & Productivity: BYOD adds flexibility and convenience to an
employee who can respond to work requests beyond office space and time using any of the
available modes of communication.
 Collaboration & Mobility: Employees are enabled to collaborate in real time using data service
or applications over their mobile devices. Virtualization technology provides ubiquitous
(anywhere, anytime) connectivity to corporate data, while innovative mobile apps provide
collaborative ways of working with internal as well as external employees or clients.
 Satisfaction: BYOD is increasingly being seen as a retention tool as higher employee
satisfaction is being reflected by the employees given the flexibility and the freedom provided by
the technology. Employee stickiness increases as they consider their organization as ahead of
the curve when it comes to technology adoption and implementation.
 IT Cost Optimization: The considerable IT Cost saving is one of the prominent business cases
for BYOD; thus optimizing the burden of asset procurement, maintenance, upgrade or

2. enhancement. A one-time infrastructure cost mitigates the periodic capital as well as operational
costs.
BYOD Adoption Challenges & Implementation Strategy
BYOD has multifaceted benefits; however the biggest predicament faced by organizations today is the
considerable challenges in protecting data, ensuring security and adherence to Industry as well as
company’s regulations. Another emerging concern for BYOD adoption is the lack of systems compatibility.
With a myriad of mobile devices along with existing legacy systems, there is bound to be concern around
integration and support.
To implement BYOD, an organization should first factor in the nature of the business and industry in
which it operates so as to define how it can stay compliant, especially on data security and privacy areas.
It should also specify the kind of devices, user roles/segments. Access & IT infrastructure requirement to
support the organization’s business needs. A middle path between employee flexibility and organization
control should be chosen for successful BYOD implementation.
Conclusion
The line between personal and professional life continues to blur. Organizations are looking at next
generation technologies to extend their data and network while adopting an “inclusive approach” rather
than the traditional “closed & controlled” environment. The phenomenal growth in the mobile subscriber
base within the country together with the ever increasing penetration of smart mobile devices would
define the path forward for collaborative and innovative technologies like BYOD; which is defining a win-
win proposition for employees as well as employers.