Prepping Your Business Network for BYOD Adoption

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Once your business has made the decision to adopt a BYOD policy, it faces the daunting task of preparing itself for change. Because this is a new trend, not many IT professionals have much experience in this area, making management uneasy about which steps to follow.

Prepping a network for BYOD isn’t much different than preparing a network for company-issued devices. After all, from the network’s point of view, whether a device is owned by an employee or the employer doesn’t really matter. That being said, there are new angles to consider, so here are a few basic steps to keep in mind.

The Top 3 Challenges You’ll Face

Device Variety
One of the biggest benefits of a traditional employer-supplied device environment, is the variety of devices is relatively small. Employees are issued common machines from the same manufacturer. That disappears in a BYOD environment. Employees are free to bring phones, tablets and phablets that run different operating systems. This added variety means greater complexity.

Additional Security Concerns
Unfortunately, security is notoriously associated with BYOD. Mobile devices have access to millions of different apps, cloud computing networks and not all of them are very secure. Many share information with third-parties, which is worrisome when important company information is stored on these devices. There are even fake apps that can inject malware into devices and steal information.

Overloaded Bandwidth
Networks that only supported phones or laptops in the past must now handle a greater number of new gadgets. BYOD encourages employees to bring more of their electronics to work. The higher volume will strain your company’s wireless network.
How to Prepare

Now that we’ve discussed a few BYOD hiccups, let’s look at a few solutions to help ease the pain.

Communication

From a non-technical standpoint, one of the most effective means of ensuring a smooth implementation of BYOD, or organizational change at any level, is proper communication. Confusion leads to failure, and so removing as much of that as possible through open dialogue is important. Make sure to have trainings and forums where employers can clearly explain company expectations, and where employees can voice concerns and questions. Include BYOD training during onboarding so you can be aware of which devices are coming in, and so new hires understand their responsibilities and rights.
Point of Contact

Along the same lines as communication, it’s important to have a designated person or team overseeing the transition to BYOD. One major breakdown with most organizational changes is that no one understands who to approach with their questions. If too many people are giving different answers, confusion ensues.

Security Tools

From a BYOD security standpoint, companies have a number of different options. The first would be to seriously consider a mobile device management solution that meets their needs. The latest suites offer a number of important features, one of the most recent being to see which types of devices are on your network. Also, BYOD has a mobile slant, with smartphones and tablets being the most commonly used devices. Employees will download and use more apps for work, causing an extreme need to invest in mobile security apps.

WiFi Upgrades

It’s probably a good time to upgrade your WiFi capacity in anticipation of these new devices. Slow connection speeds are a morale and productivity killer, so don’t delay upgrades. Many enterprises have replaced 802.11a/b/g infrastructure with 802.11n and deployed APs for maximum bandwidth and coverage.

Scalability

Organizations shouldn’t feel like BYOD is an all or nothing approach. Some of the most successful BYOD implementations, like Ford’s, involved taking the time to slowly introduce device freedom, like access to email on phones. That way companies can learn what works and make adjustments along the way.

Rick Delgado
Freelance Writer
I've been blessed to have a successful career and have recently taken a step back to pursue my passion of writing. I've started doing freelance writing and I love to write about new technologies and how it can help us and our planet. I also occasionally write for tech companies like Dell.

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