The digital world has changed considerably over the last few decades. There used to be a time when we restricted our use to big, bulky computers. There was simply no way that we could bring our own personal devices into the workplace. But, over time, this changed to start including laptops, phones and tablets. Suddenly, it became easier than ever to connect to business connections and work on our favourite devices.

That’s great and all, but security needs to be taken into effect. Every time a personal device connects to a business network, it’s putting that network at risk. This is why businesses need to determine whether personal devices are suitable for the workplace or not. We’re going to help all you owners out there to make this important decision.

What Are The Pros Of Personal Devices In The Workplace?

There are plenty of businesses that embrace their employees’ wishes to bring their own devices into the workplace. Soon, it becomes part of the company culture. It probably wouldn’t surprise you to hear this when you realise they’re paying their own costs. Some staff members are happy to pay extra to get access to their own devices, saving the company money in the process.

Also, it should be taken into account that more efficiency, productivity and general happiness can result. Personal devices are used for the reason that employees feel most comfortable with them. They understand how they work, and they know how to get the best out of them. It’s hard to argue with that.

And, personal devices are ultimately going to lower the burden on your IT services. The person in question is responsible for the maintenance of their own device. If it fails, it’s their problem.

What Are The Cons Of Personal Devices In The Workplace?

Unfortunately, there are plenty of cons for us to get stuck into. Nearly all of these cons relate to the security of the business in some way or another.

Ideally, you might have managed IT services to maintain the security of your systems. While personal devices can reduce their burden, these devices fall out of the scope of their responsibility. They can only do so much, and if a personal device becomes infected, it might not become obvious all that quickly. There are a lot of security threats that can come about as a result of personal device use.

Another problem that often rears its ugly head is that of acceptable use policies. Every company has one, and it’s in place to ensure that staff don’t go browsing inappropriate sites during work time. Unfortunately, allowing personal devices means that monitoring this activity becomes much harder.

We’ve only touched on a very small amount of potential issues. There’s also incompatibility with company software that you might need to think about. Also, think about data retrieval issues when an employee leaves the company and takes all that data with them.

The choice is yours alone. However, in the event that you decide to allow personal devices, be sure that you’ve planned for every potential issue. It’s imperative that you do this.