IT Departments Should Learn To Love BYOD

There are many views about the growing trend for using a personal mobile device for work, whether that's an iPhone, the latest Android smartphone or an iPad.
Some of the thought leaders on the bring-your-own-device (BYOD) trend are in agreement with each other's views whilst others hold completely conflicting opinions. As with any evolving space, change is occurring rapidly and sometimes it is difficult to know who or what to believe.
Is BYOD good for business and likely to increase productivity or will it simply expose organisations to unacceptable risks? Many IT departments are anti-BYOD, in fact some companies have implemented anti-BYOD policies, which prevent users from using their own mobile devices to access corporate information, including emails. It is interesting that younger employees expect to be able to use their smartphones and tablets anywhere and everywhere, including at the office so it may come as a shock to them to encounter corporate restrictions of this kind.
IT departments in major organisations typically have a culture of limitation and control - limit what the user can do/access and they will have more control over a machine and less support issues to deal with.

The consequence of this lock-down approach is that the organisation's data will be secure. Anyone working in healthcare, finance or the legal professions knows the importance of data confidentiality - this is always of paramount importance; far more so than the desire for employees to use their personal devices to check up on their emails. Therefore, one might expect the IT contingent in these types of businesses to be fairly anti-BYOD although many of them are reserving judgement.
What no one has discussed much is exactly what the users who want to bring their own devices will actually do with them once they can (assuming the BYOD rollercoaster will not stop).
Do they seriously think they can view documents and reports easily on a small smartphone screen; or write a document, create a spreadsheet or a PowerPoint presentation? In all of these discussions there has been little mention of the limitations of a small screen.

Certainly some mobile devices will be tablets but the majority of mobile devices currently managed under BYOD policies are still phones.

And whilst corporate PCs may run very slowly (perhaps due to outdated operating systems) there is no guarantee that a smartphone will run any quicker when running a corporate app wirelessly on the corporate network via their personal home Wi-Fi, or, indeed, even from with the workplace building itself. IT departments are bound to be overly anxious about security - that is their concern and their heads are the ones liable to roll if it all goes horribly wrong.
They are also worried about having to field endless support calls for personal mobiles loaded with banned apps.

But, like it or not, BYOD is the responsibility of the IT department so instead of hoping this new, scary monster had never been born they should grasp that responsibility and learn to love it.

If they don't they may find they lose one of the things they most wanted to keep - control.

It's when IT lose control of the BYOD baby that it will become open to abuse and become a potential security hazard. The IT department could also risk being viewed as inhibiting business progress rather than leading the way and embracing change that will bring improved productivity and reduced costs as benefits.
Thankfully not all IT departments are opposed to this new concept of employees bringing their own mobile devices to work. Many will embrace it with a good mobile device management solution to ease the burden and it is those BYOD programs that will be the most successful and the most secure.