What are the dangers of allowing your employees to use their own smartphones?

IBM reports that a startling three quarters of IT managers prefer their employees to use their own smartphones in the office. And, with an increase in productivity of up to 20 percent with personal mobile device use, it is not difficult to see why.

But what many businesses overlook is that adopting a bring your own device (BYOD) system puts sensitive or private company data at risk. How?

1. Loss

Juniper Research predicts that personal smartphone use in a business setting will reach 350 million by 2014. That is more than twice as many personal mobile devices in the workplace. (150 million mobile devices wormed their way into the workplace in 2013.)

That means there will be 350 million smartphones and personal mobile devices for employees to misplace. And they will misplace them.

2. Theft

Whether employees truly have their smartphones stolen or whether they tell bosses that lost phones were “forcibly taken from them” to keep tempers in check, theft is going to crop up.

And, when employees smartphones and mobile devices contain confidential company data, stolen phones threaten the security of your company.

Worldwide, over 250 million smartphones use the Android System. Even so, android phones and smartphones are coveted by just about everyone. And employees who leave them unattended in bars, buses, or airport terminals are going to be victims of theft.

3. Damage

Luckily, this one is not as big of an issue as long as you have important files saved in multiple locations. Because, face it, employees are going to leave their smartphones in their pants pockets and run them through the wash. Maybe some will drop their phones on concrete.

Phones are not indestructible, and people are a lot less careful than you would think.

Employees are unpredictable. What happens to their smartphones and mobile devices, containing important and sometimes confidential company data, is likely to be just as random.

Keeping your data safe from human error and theft, though, is simple with the implementation of device management software. Mobile device management (MDM) regulates employees personal mobile devices, including smartphones and android phones, tablet PCs, and mobile POS devices.

Device management software or MDM software is widely available and, in addition to overseeing data on personal devices, device management software also safeguards against threats. With MDM software, companies can wipe smartphones clean of company data the moment employees report devices lost or stolen.
Find out more here: www.maas360.com