The rise of bring your own device (BYOD) programmes is the single most radical shift in the economics of client computing for business since PCs invaded the workplace, according to Gartner, Inc. Every business needs a clearly articulated position on BYOD, even if it chooses not to allow for it.
BYOD is an alternative strategy that allows employees, business partners and other users to use personally selected and purchased client devices to execute enterprise applications and access data. For most organisations, the programme is currently limited to smartphones and tablets, but the strategy may also be used for PCs and may include subsidies for equipment or service fees.
"With the wide range of capabilities brought by mobile devices, and the myriad ways in which business processes are being reinvented as a result, we are entering a time of tremendous change," said David Willis, vice president and distinguished analyst at Gartner. "The market for mobile devices is booming and the basic device used in business compared to those used by consumers is converging. Simultaneously, advances in network performance allow the personal device to be married to powerful software that resides in the cloud."
Mobile innovation is now driven more by consumer markets than business markets. Affordability is not only putting very powerful technology in the hands of consumers, but those consumers are also upgrading at a much faster rate. An organisation may better keep up with mobile technology advancements by aligning to the consumer, rather than the much slower pace of business technology adoption, with its long cycle of detailed requirements analysis, established refresh rates, and centralised procurement heritage. Consumers also enjoy equipment and domestic service pricing that often matches the best deals that an enterprise can get on behalf of its users.
In a BYOD approach, users are permitted certain access rights to enterprise applications and information on personally owned devices, subject to user acceptance of enterprise security and management policies. The device is selected and purchased by the user, although IT may provide a list of acceptable devices for the user to purchase. In turn, IT provides partial or full support for device access, applications and data. The organisation may provide full, partial or no reimbursement for the device or service plan.
"Just as we saw with home broadband in the past decade, the expectation that the company will supply full reimbursement for equipment and services will decline over time, and we will see the typical employer favour reimbursing only a portion of the monthly bill," said Mr Willis. "We also expect that as adoption grows and prices decline employers will reduce the amount they reimburse."
While BYOD programmes can reduce costs, they typically do not. As businesses look to drive ever more capability to the mobile device, the costs of software, infrastructure, personnel support and related services will increase over time. Once companies start including file sharing, business applications and collaboration tools, the costs to provide mobile services go up dramatically.
Gartner said that IT's best strategy to deal with the rise of BYOD is to address it with a combination of policy, software, infrastructure controls and education in the near term; and with application management and appropriate cloud services in the longer term. Policies must be built in conjunction with legal and HR departments for the tax, labour, corporate liability and employee privacy implications. Gartner recommends that companies start with a standard policy that would apply anywhere, and create customised versions by country if necessary.
"BYOD is not for every company, or every employee. There will be wide variances in BYOD adoption across the world - by geography, industry and corporate culture," said Mr Willis. "Most programmes are at the employee's discretion - they decide if they want to opt in. For the vast majority of companies it is not possible to force all users into a bring your own (BYO) programme without substantial financial investments - and considerable support from senior management."
Despite the inherent challenges, Gartner said that we are likely to see highly successful BYOD programmes in the coming years. Many businesses will expand beyond smartphones and tablets and embrace BYO for personal computers. Beyond PCs, it is likely that users will discover new uses for emerging devices not initially understood by IT planners, much like we saw with the iPad.
"It won't stop with bring your own PC," said Mr Willis. "Bring your own IT is on the horizon. Once these new devices are in the mix, employees will be bringing their own applications, collaboration systems, and even social networks into businesses."
Additional information is available in the Special Report "Bring Your Own Device: New Opportunities, New Challenges." The Special Report is available on Gartner's web site at http://www.gartner.com/.... The Special Report includes top-level advice and addresses every part of the BYOD strategy: from planning, to policy, to project management, to cost estimations. Gartner analysts drive deeper into the business case and the question of whether BYOD saves money, and assess the state of the art in management and security technologies.
Gartner analysts will examine key issues for BYOD at Gartner Symposium/ITxpo 2012.
About Gartner Symposium/ITxpo
Gartner Symposium/ITxpo is the world's most important gathering of CIOs and senior IT executives. This event delivers independent and objective content with the authority and weight of the world's leading IT research and advisory organisation, and provides access to the latest solutions from key technology providers. Gartner's annual Symposium/ITxpo events are key components of attendees' annual planning efforts. IT executives rely on Gartner Symposium/ITxpo to gain insight into how their organisations can use IT to address business challenges and improve operational efficiency.
Additional information for Gartner Symposium/ITxpo 2012 in Barcelona, 5-8 November, is available at http://www.gartner.com/.... Members of the media can register for the event by contacting Laurence Goasduff at laurence.goasduff@gartner.com.
Additional information from the event will be shared on Twitter at http://twitter.com/... and using #GartnerSym.
Upcoming dates and locations for Gartner Symposium/ITxpo include:
Upcoming dates and locations for Gartner Symposium/ITxpo include:
28-30 August, Cape Town, South Africa: www.gartner.co.za
3-5 October, Tokyo, Japan: www.gartner.com/jp/symposium
10-12 October, Goa, India: www.gartner.com/in/symposium
21-25 October, Orlando, Florida: www.gartner.com/us/symposium
29-31 October, Sao Paulo, Brazil: www.gartner.com/br/symposium
5-8 November, Barcelona, Spain: www.gartner.com/eu/symposium
12-15 November, Gold Coast, Australia: www.gartner.com/au/symposium
5-7 March, 2013, Dubai, UAE: www.gartner.com/...
BYOD is an alternative strategy that allows employees, business partners and other users to use personally selected and purchased client devices to execute enterprise applications and access data. For most organisations, the programme is currently limited to smartphones and tablets, but the strategy may also be used for PCs and may include subsidies for equipment or service fees.
"With the wide range of capabilities brought by mobile devices, and the myriad ways in which business processes are being reinvented as a result, we are entering a time of tremendous change," said David Willis, vice president and distinguished analyst at Gartner. "The market for mobile devices is booming and the basic device used in business compared to those used by consumers is converging. Simultaneously, advances in network performance allow the personal device to be married to powerful software that resides in the cloud."
Mobile innovation is now driven more by consumer markets than business markets. Affordability is not only putting very powerful technology in the hands of consumers, but those consumers are also upgrading at a much faster rate. An organisation may better keep up with mobile technology advancements by aligning to the consumer, rather than the much slower pace of business technology adoption, with its long cycle of detailed requirements analysis, established refresh rates, and centralised procurement heritage. Consumers also enjoy equipment and domestic service pricing that often matches the best deals that an enterprise can get on behalf of its users.
In a BYOD approach, users are permitted certain access rights to enterprise applications and information on personally owned devices, subject to user acceptance of enterprise security and management policies. The device is selected and purchased by the user, although IT may provide a list of acceptable devices for the user to purchase. In turn, IT provides partial or full support for device access, applications and data. The organisation may provide full, partial or no reimbursement for the device or service plan.
"Just as we saw with home broadband in the past decade, the expectation that the company will supply full reimbursement for equipment and services will decline over time, and we will see the typical employer favour reimbursing only a portion of the monthly bill," said Mr Willis. "We also expect that as adoption grows and prices decline employers will reduce the amount they reimburse."
While BYOD programmes can reduce costs, they typically do not. As businesses look to drive ever more capability to the mobile device, the costs of software, infrastructure, personnel support and related services will increase over time. Once companies start including file sharing, business applications and collaboration tools, the costs to provide mobile services go up dramatically.
Gartner said that IT's best strategy to deal with the rise of BYOD is to address it with a combination of policy, software, infrastructure controls and education in the near term; and with application management and appropriate cloud services in the longer term. Policies must be built in conjunction with legal and HR departments for the tax, labour, corporate liability and employee privacy implications. Gartner recommends that companies start with a standard policy that would apply anywhere, and create customised versions by country if necessary.
"BYOD is not for every company, or every employee. There will be wide variances in BYOD adoption across the world - by geography, industry and corporate culture," said Mr Willis. "Most programmes are at the employee's discretion - they decide if they want to opt in. For the vast majority of companies it is not possible to force all users into a bring your own (BYO) programme without substantial financial investments - and considerable support from senior management."
Despite the inherent challenges, Gartner said that we are likely to see highly successful BYOD programmes in the coming years. Many businesses will expand beyond smartphones and tablets and embrace BYO for personal computers. Beyond PCs, it is likely that users will discover new uses for emerging devices not initially understood by IT planners, much like we saw with the iPad.
"It won't stop with bring your own PC," said Mr Willis. "Bring your own IT is on the horizon. Once these new devices are in the mix, employees will be bringing their own applications, collaboration systems, and even social networks into businesses."
Additional information is available in the Special Report "Bring Your Own Device: New Opportunities, New Challenges." The Special Report is available on Gartner's web site at http://www.gartner.com/.... The Special Report includes top-level advice and addresses every part of the BYOD strategy: from planning, to policy, to project management, to cost estimations. Gartner analysts drive deeper into the business case and the question of whether BYOD saves money, and assess the state of the art in management and security technologies.
Gartner analysts will examine key issues for BYOD at Gartner Symposium/ITxpo 2012.
About Gartner Symposium/ITxpo
Gartner Symposium/ITxpo is the world's most important gathering of CIOs and senior IT executives. This event delivers independent and objective content with the authority and weight of the world's leading IT research and advisory organisation, and provides access to the latest solutions from key technology providers. Gartner's annual Symposium/ITxpo events are key components of attendees' annual planning efforts. IT executives rely on Gartner Symposium/ITxpo to gain insight into how their organisations can use IT to address business challenges and improve operational efficiency.
Additional information for Gartner Symposium/ITxpo 2012 in Barcelona, 5-8 November, is available at http://www.gartner.com/.... Members of the media can register for the event by contacting Laurence Goasduff at laurence.goasduff@gartner.com.
Additional information from the event will be shared on Twitter at http://twitter.com/... and using #GartnerSym.
Upcoming dates and locations for Gartner Symposium/ITxpo include:
Upcoming dates and locations for Gartner Symposium/ITxpo include:
28-30 August, Cape Town, South Africa: www.gartner.co.za
3-5 October, Tokyo, Japan: www.gartner.com/jp/symposium
10-12 October, Goa, India: www.gartner.com/in/symposium
21-25 October, Orlando, Florida: www.gartner.com/us/symposium
29-31 October, Sao Paulo, Brazil: www.gartner.com/br/symposium
5-8 November, Barcelona, Spain: www.gartner.com/eu/symposium
12-15 November, Gold Coast, Australia: www.gartner.com/au/symposium
5-7 March, 2013, Dubai, UAE: www.gartner.com/...
