Before any BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) implementation of any kind, it is critical to assess the environment, engage with stakeholders and have a clearly defined policy in place… avoiding these steps could have serious implications for business.
This is the view of senior management at Dell Computers. The company recently participated in the IDC CIO Summit Africa 2013, held recently in Cape Town, South Africa, and showcased a number of solutions that they feel epitomises the user movement towards enhanced device management, ultra-mobility and increased productivity.
They also used the opportunity to engage C-level delegates at the event about BYOD and what they need to consider in developing and implementing a BYOD strategy.
Llewellyn Chame, Mobility Product Specialist at Dell, said that BYOD is no longer a trend, but a program that can be implemented now – and there are a number of factors that the CIO must take into consideration before embarking on any action.
“On the one hand there is the argument for providing users with flexibility of choice. But, certainly, the business has the right to mandate the level of support. Security, management of infrastructure and bandwidth all influence how the trend is adopted, and, more importantly, what the impact is on cost. If handled correctly, there is a powerful story about helping businesses become more efficient and relevant,” he said.
But with all that BYOD implies and level of impact it can have, should CIOs even consider this option?
According to Chame it is not a question of the difficulty of BYOD, but rather what could be lost by not adopting it.
“The fact is that employees want to be empowered, they want mobility. The key thing about BYOD is efficiency and one cannot shy away from tech adoption, there may be easier ways of dealing with it… but they may not necessarily be the right ways,” he added.
Chame said that the company was impressed with the strides the local market has made in terms of embracing BYOD, particularly in terms of looking past the device or need to satisfy immediate demands, and carefully reviewing the back-end and capacity of the business.
The company is pushing its Latitude tablet range as part of a product portfolio that Chame says is designed to equip the user as they operate within a market that is adopting technology to facilitate the move “from consumption to creation.”
He warned that with so many devices and solutions on offer, it is imperative that CIOs assess their environments and have clearly-defined policies in place to help prevent a difficult BYOD integration and protect the integrity of the business.
* Image via Shutterstock
Chris Tredger, Online Editor
