Mobility in the workplace is here to stay. If your customers are looking for new ways to support their road warriors, they might be considering the bring your own device (BYOD) revolution. By letting employees use their own devices for work, companies can reduce costs and improve employee satisfaction. Yet, there are compliance and security risks associated with a BYOD environment which make it challenging to manage.  

As you talk to your customers about cloud communications, you can help them understand how this technology helps protect businesses and employees — even in the modern age of mobility and the BYOD movement.

What is the BYOD revolution?

We should know – Broadvoice came up with this playful acronym; check out this Wikipedia page. It stands for Bring Your Own Device and refers to when a business allows its employees to use personally selected and purchased devices — such as smart phones, tablets, and laptops — to access business applications and data. BYOC refers to bring your own cell, while BYOS stands for bring your own service.

Why BYOD Is Now a Revolution

What was once a mild IT distraction has now become a revolution.  Why are so many companies adopting these policies?  

Because  a BYOD-friendly workplace:  

• Saves money. Companies no longer have to invest in and upgrade hardware and networking costs.  

• Boosts productivity and satisfaction. Most people want the ability to use their own devices. It’s easier and more familiar than new devices at the office. Employees save time (an average of 81 minutes per week) by using their own devices.  

The BYOD Pitfalls: Security and Privacy Risks 

Although popular, BYOD also comes with serious security risks you might want to further outline for your customers, including: 

• Data loss. Smart phones and laptops get lost or stolen all the time. And when this happens, companies lose vital information and become vulnerable.  
• No control over data and devices. It’s very common for employees to forget about traditional security measures with their own devices. Password protection, IT best practices and policies go out the door with personally owned devices, and this compromises the security of company IT resources.  

• Vulnerability to malware and viruses. With the ability to use their own smart phones, employees are free to download other apps and use their phones however they want. Unfortunately, this also means they could end up downloading a bad app and opening the door to malware and viruses that effect the operating systems.  

Cloud Communications Protect Your Customers 

While letting mobile employees use their own devices for work isn’t new, learning how to handle the risks, is. Understanding how this risk can affect a company and their IT department is important.  What if there was a way for companies to have a BYOD-friendly workplace without exposing themselves and their employees to security and privacy risks?  

Cloud PBX can help solve these major security concerns within a BYOD environment. 

Secure BYOD management with b-hive

b-hive makes it possible for companies to provide a safe and secure BYOD policy, especially for the mobile workforce. For example, b-hive comes with a free mobile app that connects a client’s business line to a mobile phone. Since the app undergoes regular security updates, it allows for mobility without exposing the company to security risks.  

What if the smart phone is lost or stolen? With b-hive, administrators can change password and user credentials from the portal, cutting off access to company information when needed. This is great if an employee leaves the company, or if the device gets lost or stolen.  

Questions to Ask Your Customers

Your customers want a workforce that’s mobile and productive, but they don’t want to run into security risks. Help your clients shift their focus to the cloud by asking them a few important questions: 

1. Do you have a mobile strategy today?
2. Do you allow your employees to bring and use their own device? 
3. How do you setup BYOD management? 
4. Is it important for you to be able to manage the risk that a BYOD environment creates? 
5. How do you do that today? 

Providing the Quote that Matters  

b-hive supports mobility for small and medium businesses looking for a cloud-based business phone system. If you are a current Broadvoice partner or would like to learn more about how to talk to your customers about mobility in the workplace, reach out to your channel manager today.