Since 2010, BYOD (Bring Your Own Device), where employees use their own smartphones, laptops and tablets in the workplace, has revolutionized both how and where we work.
In today's digital workplace, the need to stay connected and productive both in and out of the office has grown significantly, forcing IT departments to respond. Companies can no longer create an IT policy which is self-serving, but one which encompasses the wants and needs of their employees, striking the balance between security on one hand and user productivity on the other.
The debate around BYOD isn't a new one and in fact as an issue, it looks like one that's here to stay. Researchers at Gartner have predicted that by 2017, half of employers will require their employees to supply their own devices.*
Statistics such as these have caused many sleepless nights for CIOs, security officers and IT managers, as they figure out how to secure corporate data on devices the company doesn’t actually own.
Their restlessness won't be abated by research from Dell, which found that 50% of its customers with a BYOD policy have experienced a security breach*.
So how can you get round these security concerns?
Over the course of the last 12 months, an altogether new model of employee mobility has risen to the surface. COPE (Corporately Owned, Personally Enabled) devices are those which are owned and supplied by a company, but rather than locking them down, they are enabled for personal use.
As opposed to BYOD, the COPE model offers a much higher level of control over security, primarily because the devises are owned and sanctioned by the company. IT can decide which data employees can access, make regular back-ups and remotely wipe lost or stolen devices. Moreover, IT teams can limit the applications that are downloaded, how they are implemented and the associated cost.
The pace of change in the world of enterprise technology and the broader consumerization of IT has fueled the demand for more fluid, mobile ways of working. Any move towards implementing a BYOD or COPE policy needs to keep core business needs in mind, providing choice and flexibility to employees doesn't have to come at the cost of security.
If you're interested in exploring how Avecto's Defendpoint solution can help secure your enterprise, please visit www.avecto.com/defendpoint
*http://www.gartner.com/newsroom/id/2466615
* http://www.v3.co.uk/v3-uk/news/2255220/dell-claims-fifty-percent-of-byod-firms-have-suffered-a-security-breach
