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BYOD Ruling the Minds of Employees, Employers and Security Experts

Bring your own device, commonly referred to as BYOD, has become the most viable way for business workers to access company information on mobile devices. These devices can pull up database information, access dashboard features, and share documents without being confined to the office computer.

BYOD gained ground for remote workers and traveling business people to have real-time data available at the touch of their fingertips. For several years, employers began seeing the advantages because employees would use their own devices, curtailing the expenditures that businesses shelled out to purchase the equipment on the company budget. In August of 2014, Internet security company Webroot estimated that 61 percent of businesses allow employees to use personal laptops and smartphones to perform work-related tasks. Webroot’s survey also estimates that half of these companies will exclusively adopt smartphones as the go-to BYOD device by 2017, according to USA Today.

Yet what does this growing trend mean for IT management? Business owners need to find a way to allow different BYOD devices to gain access to network systems and make their systems compatible to different mobile operating platforms. They will also have to provide patches and upgrades specifically for mobile devices, allow or restrict the use of certain mobile apps, and provide mobile security to prevent lost or stolen company data. To tackle this new sphere of mobile workstations, companies are adopting mobile device management software and solutions.

What is Mobile Device Management Software?

Mobile device management software is an IT security application solution where the company can manage, monitor and secure devices that access the company’s network applications. The software allows for all mobile devices — despite the brand or mobile operating system — to be managed by the IT department and abide by the policies set by the company. The application ensures that information transmitted between the company’s networks to the mobile devices is secure and used as intended for workers to accomplish work activities.