IT strikes back in BYOD battle — Cloud Computing News.
The controversy in the “Bring Your Own Device” debate grinds on.
Aside from the very real privacy and security issues which BYOD raises (and about which I rail incessantly), there are significant negative impacts on companies’ IT resources, both internal and external.
In essence, BYOD appears to become, in effect, an unfunded mandate for IT support, which significantly strains what are often already overburdened resources. This is less of a big deal for outsourced IT providers, as they, if they write their service contract correctly, simply price in support of whatever devices their customers use, be it internally procured or BYOD. Doubtless, heterogeneous BYOD devices will lead to increased IT support costs, though.
For internal IT, BYOD can be a real nightmare, increasing resource drain without necessarily bringing in additional funding or resources to plug the gap.
In any event, BYOD may be a viable strategy for companies, but it should not be a “no-brainer”. Companies should look carefully at the hidden costs and risks involved and assess whether the potential savings of BYOD are, in fact, savings at all.
Briskin, Cross & Sanford - Technology Law 