How Does Telecom Expense Management Play into BYOD?
July 12, 2013
By Susan J. Campbell, TMCnet Contributing Editor
The means we use to stay connected can sometimes also be the means to drive up costs associated with doing business. As innovations continue to be introduced into the corporate environment, it’s easy to overlook duplicate services or idle accounts. When this happens, an organization can find itself in need of telecom expense management as it’s paying too much for communications.
A recent ZDNet report examined this current phenomenon and the introduction of bring your own device into the mix. According to a Spiceworks (News - Alert) report, more than 60 percent of small and medium-sized businesses have already embraced some form of BYOD. Just 16 percent of these companies, however, have actually put a formal policy in place to manage these mobile devices.
Fortunately, there are solutions available that can assist in the management process and help contribute to healthy telecom expense management. AirWatch (News - Alert) Professional, for instance, can serve companies with 50 or fewer devices with a cloud-based service. Administrators can leverage a centralized management console for remote control of a wide range of platforms, including iOS, Android (News - Alert) and more. Beachhead Solutions is focused on security and access control for devices, while Spotflux provides options for filtering and securing mobile Internet traffic. Other solutions are also available to help in the process, making it easier to transition to BYOD, while still maintaining control over devices, access and cost.
With the right controls in place, employees can enjoy the freedom and flexibility afforded with BYOD without the threats. Plus, the organization can benefit as well, seeing a reduction in the costs associated with communications and an increase in productivity. For instance, employee productivity has increased for 50 percent of companies that have already adopted BYOD. The average employee is happier and 45 percent of current employees would even accept lower pay if they could still keep the benefits of BYOD.
Such benefits could easily be measured on the bottom line and it appears other companies are taking note. For instance, Gartner (News - Alert) suggests that roughly 70 percent of IT organizations are already supporting BYOD or plan to do so in the next 12 months. To truly get the full value of the benefits promised, however, a clear strategy and user policy must be in place. Otherwise, expenses could quickly get out of hand in terms of security, access and control. By launching a program with a clear plan, unnecessary expenses later can be avoided.
Edited by Rachel Ramsey