The thought of how convenient and fast operations would turn out should the employees be allowed to use their personal gadgets at work is incredible. Failure of appreciation and adoption of technology advancements will definitely see such a company not realizing its goals, which has significant negative economic force. One of the most trusted and proven ways to ensure that organizations meet market demands and provide reliable services to all their potential customers is to allow employees to access systems using their own devices. This white paper makes a compelling case for why institutions should adopt a Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) policy based on the fact that the program is beneficial in saving companies time and money by not having to spend extra on devices to work.
In the 21st century, one of the notable advances is the introduction of technology into business and other daily operations. According to Gupta et al. (2019), no organization can run any operation without involving the internet, including those in the less developed countries. In agreement with this argument, Bratthall et al. (2018) stated that even the smallest operations such as making transactions, and operating petty cash require the internet. Clearly, the immense contribution of technology to all corporate operations cannot be overlooked. Although there is this great input, there still remain loose ends with technology use. For instance, the devices required for accessing internet such as phones, tablets and laptops are quite expensive, and organizations must invest heavily if every employee must have access to these gadgets. To maximize on profits and overall benefits, it is important for organizations to consider lifting the ban on BYOD policies.
One of the advantages of allowing employees to work with their own IT accessories is saving on maintenance and repair costs. According to Bratthall et al. (2018), organizations spend a huge amount of money on marinating the IT devices such as computers every year. These costs drain the company’s resources and block potential revenue. Often, these machines breakdown due to carelessness of the employees and mishandling. However, people tend to be more cautious with their personal devices since any maintenance and repair cost is on them. Moreover, computers, tablets and even phones require to be updated regularly. Any expenses needed for these updates are not on the organizations but individual owners.
Another benefit of BYOD to the institutions is time saving. As mentioned earlier, system updates on the IT devices is necessary and should be performed on a regular basis. Implementing these updates may take up to three days or even a week depending on how complex the system is. The time invested in system updates can be used for other income generating activities to the organizations. Many people owning IT devices often want to keep them updated with the latest versions of operating systems and other software (Tsegaye et al., 2018). On the other hand, since there is no specific time when organization activities are not running, the company needs to forego some important operations to have the systems updated.
Moreover, it can be said that BYOD has created inroads in the business world. Research findings indicate that some of the vastly grown markets such as Russia and Brazil have adopted the idea. Additionally, Gupta et al. (2019) posit that 44% of workers in developed markets use their own technology. These facts clearly show that BYOD should be embraced by small organizations that are still struggling to grow and hold a position in the world’s economy. While BYOD is not the only way to organizations’ success, coupled with good management systems can allow these businesses to scale higher and achieve their dreams.
In addition, BYOD allows company’s employees to be more productive. According to Gupta et al. (2019), employees using their own devices are two times more productive compared to those using company’s devices. For example, one would prefer using their personal computer than the one provided by ICT department. This is due to ease of use and comfort that comes with something one is used to. Bratthall et al. (2018) argue that BYOD boosts the morale of employees, which significantly pushes their efforts further towards achieving the set objectives. Additionally, one’s device is a personal selection and preference, and this brings some kind of satisfaction when working.
The COVID-19 pandemic has led to the near total closure of most organizations. Businesses, educational institutions and social gatherings have experienced a dramatic turnaround and people have been forced to leave their workplaces and schools and work from home. Due to such a rapid need for evacuation, people were transferred to remote work. Even now, there are companies that allow their employees to work from home. This was a big challenge for most companies that were not prepared for the change. For example, employees had to look for software that would allow them to access data and other work needs. Although it was difficult at first, people got used to it and organizations continued their activities during the pandemic. During this period, not many organizations purchased new devices for the work of employees, but used their own, which served as a proof of the reliability of BYOD.
While BYOD is a good solution for business organizations and its benefits outweigh the disadvantages, there are several negative impacts that can be detrimental to organizations. First, it is not easy to control access to data and share it when every employee uses their own devices. This can lead to information leakage and sensitive data can get to unauthorized recipients and be used against the organization (Tsegaye et al., 2018). Finally, malware can easily spread from one infected device to another, which can be used to spread cybercrime.
In conclusion, BYOD is a positive contributor to the world of business. Its immense impact has been observed in the highly developed markets such as Brazil and Russia, which rank on top in the world’s economy. It escalates the productivity of the employees, boost their morale and make them feel more satisfied with the work. Lifting the BYOD policy banns will significantly reduce the purchasing and maintenance of device costs and hence more savings. Therefore, organizations should change the policy governing against BYOD and allow use of personal technologies.
References
Bratthall Tideman, J., & Lindström, J. (2018). Key components when utilising BYOD within organisations – A framework for developing the BYOD policy. Lup.lub.lu.se.
Gupta, R., Bhardwaj, G., & Singh, G. (2019). Employee Perception and Behavioral Intention to Adopt BYOD in the Organizations. IEEE Xplore.
Tsegaye, W. K., Su, Q., & Ouyang, Z. (2018). Expatriates’ success in Ethiopia: Empirical evidence on the overlooked impact of cultural value alignment. Journal of Psychology in Africa, 28(6), 444–448.