The bring-your-own-device (BYOD) trend is definitely having a big impact on the digital workplace, especially with C-level executives. A recent Cisco survey of 2,400 BYOD knowledge workers found that they gained on average 37 minutes of productivity a week, with executives gaining three times that amount, according to an article on CIO.com. Almost half of the respondents preferred BYOD to corporate devices, and the average BYOD user said they would need a $2,200 signing bonus to move to a company with only corporate devices.
The growth of BYOD is translating to the digital workplace in that mobile interfaces and mobile interaction to accomplish tasks and provide services are more important than ever. The digital workplace absolutely must be mobile, as it has to work on smartphones and tablets.
Many people work “out of pocket,” which means they need to be able to access information portals anywhere at any time from a centralized repository on any device. The challenge for organizations is to create specific functions in a mobile setting that enables users to do that.
Smartphones, which are easiest to manage and have limited functions, are the most common subjects of BYOD, and companies are expanding to tablets. The survey reports that 81 percent of BYOD users use smartphones, 56 percent use tablets and 37 percent use laptops. Still, “laptops should be a core feature in a BYOD strategy” as they’re an important productivity tool for most knowledge workers, Cisco advises.
The digital workplace is transforming BYOD in part because of cost savings with lowering expectations for corporate IT support for devices. Research advisory firm Gartner predicts that 38 percent of businesses will stop providing devices to employees by 2016. In many cases, the company will subsidize the service plan, but the employee will own and maintain the device.
BYOD users also are showing enthusiasm with their wallets, spending an average $965 to purchase devices for work, according to the survey. However, the survey reports that a sizable minority of users prefer corporate devices, which come with IT support, and recommends keeping corporate devices as an option. In fact, a quarter of BYOD users say they prefer corporate devices.
The survey concludes that an effective digital workplace should account for both BYOD and corporate devices to allow employees to work in a manner that is most comfortable for them.
Contributor: Jill Hannemann, Practice Director for SharePoint Advisory Services at Portal Solutions
Source: CIO.com, May 2013
