The concept of bring-your-own-device (BYOD) has been a major topic of discussion in the business realm for the better part of this decade. The advancement of mobile technology has brought us to a point where employees often own gadgets that perform better than the traditional computers deployed to them at their jobs. Add that to the fact that individuals who bring mobile devices to work can start their tasks early during their commute to work or continue to work on them when they go home for the day and BYOD has simply too many benefits to be ignored.
But, despite the advantages, many have been reluctant to adopt BYOD. The main reason why? Their increasing volume of sensitive data.
Today, there is so much digitized information that flows in and out of business infrastructures that keeping on track of it all can be a hefty challenge. Keeping it protected can be even more difficult, which is why companies have been so adamant about ensuring information never leaves the confines of the office. When employees access sensitive company data on their personal devices, they may take that information with them when they go home for the evening and bring their devices. This is a troubling proposition for many people.
An article in the online publication Pando Daily suggests data is the one factor limiting the effectiveness of BYOD. Jaspreet Singh, the article's author, says that putting data in the hands of an employee off the clock is too risky.
"Without encryption and remote data deletion capabilities, regulated information such as patient data, customer lists, bids, business presentations, product designs, company financials and a whole litany of other sensitive information either stored on mobile devices or sent as email attachments is readily available to data thieves as well as departing employees who can share it with their next employer," he writes.
That doesn't mean companies should be afraid of BYOD. After all, it does offer numerous advantages if businesses can find a proper way to control the protection of their data. This starts from formulating a system that provides organizations with a clear and accurate view of all their information, which can alleviate the risk of any being lost or compromised in any other fashion if it is displayed on a personal device outside of work. A custom database software system can provide this benefit.