BYOD Presents Varying Concerns Across Enterprise Departments: A Dell Presentation

Dell has made available a presentation that outlines how Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) programs effect different department within an organization. Obviously the different departments that make up an organization are governed by different rules and regulations with each having their own structure. The information and data key to each department differs in terms of sensitivity, importance, internal impact and employee privacy.

When BYOD programs are brought into the equation and that data and information is now being stored and accessed from personal devices certain considerations and questions need to be addresses. As everything else differs from department to department, those questions and considerations differ as well. Dell’s presentation looks at how BYOD programs can impact legal, HR and IT departments specifically and they present questions and/or consideration for each. Department heads really should be aware of these as each can have an impact on how enterprise mobility policies are drawn up and also help to determine the type of Mobile Device Management (MDM) or Enterprise Mobility Management (EMM) solution is implemented based on the entire organization’s needs.

For example legal needs to ask themselves, “What is the company’s responsibility if, in the event of a security breach which leads to the employee’s device being monitored, the company mistakenly views personal information that it is not legally allowed to see?” HR needs to consider “Employees who are upset when/if they lose data due to a necessary data wipe when devices are lost/misplaced.” For IT it seems to be the old song and dance when it comes to BYOD. Their main point of concern should relate to potential points of data leakage increased by BYOD including, “lost devices, data stolen from devices being used on unsecured networks, phone storage cards being stolen, when an employee leaves the company (either amiably or not), how is the data protected and when employees upgrade/replace their phones.”

While they are all very different they are all still very real question and concerns that need to be addressed when employing and BYOD program. Find an MDM or EMM solution that can address all concerns across all applicable departments can be a tough task which highlights that choosing the right solution should never be a hasty decision.