In the past few years or so, there has been a noticeable increase in the number of workers deciding to use their personal computers or mobile devices for several tasks at work. Too many people working overtime to try and get major tasks done on time, it might make sense, but does it actually work and how risky is this trend?
As the infographic shows, the explosion in the popularity of Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) can be attributed to a number of things. The increasing prevalence of tablets has made it less of a problem to do work at home or even on the move while getting to and from the office. BYOD has also been made possible by technology including cloud computing and conference calling.
Added convenience
The main reason why the BYOD trend has prevailed is down to convenience. Using a tablet, personal laptop or even a smartphone in the vein of a Samsung Galaxy S4 or the latest iPhone to complete big tasks can save time, but there are one or two concerns over security. The biggest possible risk is of theft of a personal device containing sensitive work data.
Should that happen, there is a chance that any BYOD scheme could be undermined. Also, if a personal device is connected to a wireless workplace network, should there be any forms of malware lurking; the risk of infection spreading to office devices could be huge. Nevertheless, the convenience factor should mean that BYOD is here to stay.
