One of the biggest trends from just the past few years can easily be summed up through the letters BYOD. Bring Your Own Device policies have been all the rage among companies looking to increase employee productivity while also saving on costs, and it’s a trend that doesn’t appear to be slowing down. According to Gartner, about half of companies will have some sort of BYOD program in place by the year 2017. But all is not sunshine and rainbows for the relatively popular BYOD movement. The issue of security continues to grow as IT departments struggle to keep up with the demands of an ever-evolving landscape of mobile devices and security threats. With this prevalent concern, an alternative strategy has popped up called COPE. Comparing the two reveals both strengths and weaknesses for the competing mobile device methods.
What is BYOD?
If one word can properly summarize the appeal of BYOD, it’s “freedom.” BYOD allows employees to bring their personal devices into work for use in the respective jobs. That means they can choose whatever device they want to use along with the apps and services they prefer. This policy has largely resulted in employees that are more satisfied with their jobs while also being much more productive. Since workers are using devices they’re already familiar with and enjoy, it stands to reason that they would get more work done, avoiding the hassle of learning a new, unfamiliar device. Employees are usually tasked with paying for the device themselves along with any network charges, but some companies do offer subsidies which often offset these costs.
Downsides to BYOD
As mentioned at the beginning of this article, security is the main concern with BYOD. IT departments need to manage a large array of devices, apps, operating systems, and other factors, which can be a complex task. With such a large variety, the chances of compromising valuable company data only increases. It’s also hard for IT to police how employees use the devices, leading to even more cyber threats. BYOD in theory was also supposed to save businesses money, but so far, the results have been mixed.
What is COPE?
COPE stands for Corporate-Owned, Personally-Enabled, and it has largely come into prominence as a response to the security worries surrounding BYOD. COPE puts more control into the hands of business leaders and IT workers by issuing devices that the company owns to employees. Usually it is a device of the employee’s choosing, provided it has been pre-approved. Once given the device, employees are then able to use it however they wish, allowing them to personalize the content on the device within relatively simple limitations. The ownership of the device by the company gives them more of a chance to address and tackle security issues. Many COPE policies give IT the chance to remotely wipe a device if it is lost or stolen, and since the company owns it, there are no legal ramifications to consider. COPE can also save money since many businesses may get deals by buying devices in bulk.
Downsides to COPE
COPE has more restrictions than BYOD, in turn taking away much of the freedom BYOD employees enjoy. The COPE strategy looks to counteract this by allowing workers to personalize what’s on the device, but generous limitations are still limitations. There’s also the issue of privacy companies and employees have to consider. Employees may be less willing to put personal data on a device that’s owned by the company, thereby eliminating the chance to personalize the device further. In addition to that concern, IT workers simply having more control over devices doesn’t eliminate all security risks.
Dealing with Security
There are ways BYOD deals with security--downloading remote wipe programs, stricter MDM policies, and even app and device controls. COPE similarly places certain parameters on devices and how they can be used. In essence, there’s no surefire way to be 100% secure. BYOD will give more freedom to employees, but opens the business up to more risks depending on employee behavior. COPE is better able at handling security threats, but has tighter restrictions and less freedom for workers. It’s a balancing act that all companies will need to weigh as both strategies become more accepted and embraced. In general, the more technically savvy the employees, the more they stand to benefit from BYOD while minimizing security risks. COPE can help those workers who may not be as familiar with the latest technology. Whatever decision a company makes, employees are expected to become more productive in the long run while also enjoying their jobs more.