Most of us today carry at least one mobile device - a mobile phone, a smartphone or a tablet. Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) refers to employees using their own personal mobile devices for business use. It describes a workplace policy of allowing employees to use their own equipment rather than something given to them by their employer.

Major causes of the BYOD trend are companies wanting to reduce complexity and cost of managing mobility and employees wanting to use the most popular devices that they use as consumers, instead of the device provided by their employer.

BYOD offers a number of benefits, such as faster response time, increased productivity, improved employee satisfaction and cost savings. The advantages of BYOD, especially for the mobile workers such as sales and marketing teams who travel frequently, are well recognized.

Employees also really like using just one device rather than carrying two separate ones. Carrying two phones or tablets is a hassle for most people, and when the option’s there, most of us would prefer to use the better or more suitable of the two. People also tend to be more productive when they’re using a device they’re used to and enjoy using.

Unfortunately, BYOD ended up causing all sorts of issues for IT and a company’s security. Employees taking their work home with them on unsecured devices mean they could be compromised very easily. It is more difficult for an IT department to provide support for a number of devices, platforms and carriers, and to secure access to corporate data. Another trend BYOD has led to is employees are always on the clock; before, during and after normal work hours, employees are still easily accessible.

There needs to be a balance, decided upon and managed by the corporation, to ensure secure network access as well as compliance with numerous regulations.