What is a BYOD Policy?

Bring Your Own Device or BYOD is when a staff member brings a device of their choice into the workplace.

As a business or organisation BYOD can bring many benefits. It allows staff the freedom to choose a device they want to use in the workplace, it can improve digital skills as staff become more familiar with the device they use and for the employer it can reduce the costs of paying for up-front hardware and on-going maintenance. For these reasons it is also becoming popular in schools.

Many people see this as a great perk and when looking for a new job - a BYOD scheme may make your company stand out. After all, a business wants to attract the best people possible, does it really matter that they want to access company information on a device of their choice?

But before announcing you will offer the service there are a number of things to consider. You will need to decide; what devices will be allowed to access your IT network and the services your organisation uses, who will provide support to set up BYOD technology and whether you require staff to have certain software installed on their device, like a virus protector, before being allowed access. It is also common for organisations to reimburse individuals who are part of the scheme - you will need to decide how much this should be and who is eligible for BYOD.

To help, Digital Journey has provided an Example Policy (see attachment to this article) which covers the main areas to consider for a company. Edit away!

Also, this slideshow from IT Business may help you identify what factors you need to consider and the options available.