The Future of BYOD Work Culture

More and more, people are bringing their cell phones, laptops, and tablets into work. They are constantly connected to their gadgets, ushering in the age of the Internet of Things. It’s not because they want to check Facebook more often or Periscope their workdays. In many cases, it’s a requirement.

By 2017, Gartner expects that almost half of all employers will have a mandatory Bring Your Own Device Policy for their employees. Within the next year, 38% of companies are going to stop supplying their workers with PCs and laptops. Sure, it’ll be fun for employees to finally discard their clunky old desktop computers Office Space-style, but it may bring up a lot of issue in regards to enterprise content management (ECM) and document management systems (DMS). Plus, it can change workflow and the various processes occurring on a constant basis at large and mid-size companies.

BYOD is truly shaping the future of business. With that being said, let’s take a look at some of the changes companies must make before transitioning into a BYOD work culture.

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They’ll need to establish better security

Not everyone puts up firewalls on their computers, or uses different passwords for various online (and offline) accounts. It may be fine to use 123456 as your iPhone passcode, but that’s not going to cut it at work. While security levels on companies’ native, in-office equipment isn’t perfect, it’s most likely safer than individuals’ devices.

If companies have a lack of security and get hacked, they can lose an insane amount of time, resources, and money. The risk is only growing, and has the potential to become worse with BYOD in effect. According to one study of 350 companies, the average total cost of big data breaches has increased by 23% in the past two years to $3.79 million. Before instituting a BYOD policy, companies need to make sure that all devices are secure.

They’ll need to institute work schedules

BYOD is great news for workaholics, because thanks to smartphones and other devices, we are now working nonstop. In between drinking a martini or putting the kids to bed (or both at the same time), people are checking their work emails and undergoing different company-related projects.

A study by Intel showed that after implementing its own BYOD program, the company achieved 5 million hours of annual productivity gains. Typical ECM and DMS software will record workflows of different processes. If employees are working on these projects outside of their typical schedules, employers need to figure out how to compensate them. In terms of legality, what if an employee makes a wrong move? What if it was not during the workday, but it occurred on the employer’s project? Guidelines need to be made about schedules prior to employers deciding to make BYOD an obligation.

They’ll need to provide universal software

An ECM system is the full package. It can come with a number of different programs that are installed into a computer or on a company’s server. How can companies ask employees to free up space on their cell phones for these programs? What if employees still want to keep videos of adorable cats stored on there?

In rolling out BYOD policies, companies have to provide apps or websites that employees can log onto in order to access their work. The programs must also be compatible with small screens and easy to navigate on popular devices, such as iPhones, Androids, and iPads. If ECM takes up a ton of space on employees’ phones, they are going to be hesitant to download it and participate in BYOD.

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They’ll need to offer extensive training

A company can’t just have a sudden epiphany to enact its own BYOD policy. A change that big is a disruption to work order and would require a well thought out plan if it’s going to succeed. First, they must train their employees on security, workflow, scheduling, and software issues to make their programs successful. Otherwise, they’ll end up spending more money on solving issues that arise, and causing far more stress than necessary. We’ll touch further on the finer points in an upcoming article.

By working with their ECM and DMS providers hand in hand, they can come up with solutions that will suit everyone and improve their businesses at the end of the day.

 

 

Do you want to learn more about ECM, DMS, and how you can make it work with your BYOD program? Find out information by contacting Contentverse today.

 

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