1.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of allowing employees to use their personal
smartphones for work?

Bring your own device BYOD

Bring your own device — called bring your own technology, bring your own phone, and bring
your own personal computer —refers to being allowed to use one's personally owned device,
rather than being required to use an officially provided device.
Advantages
+ Productivity
- Businesses take less time for training: employees are already familiar with their own
devices and they know how to get the best out of them.=>increase in the efficiency and
a reduction in the time needed to complete tasks. => positively productivity.
- According to a Forbes study, 49% of employees say that they are more productive when
using their own devices. BOYD raises employee satisfaction => the workers can be more
efficient and happier.
- Companies should focus more on performance instead of the time they spend working.
- Saving time (Research from Sapho workplace productivity)
+ Flexibility
- Employees can work from anywhere with their mobile devices.
- Staff can access documents more quickly, whether they’re in the office or traveling on
business =>The user productivity rises significantly
- BYOD gives the employer greater flexibility which is being as a key factor to job
satisfaction and positive motivation. Flexibility is one of the main incentives for
employee happiness and it can increase loyalty, morale, and employee engagement.
- Employees work from home in response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, which
has added extra emphasis to the trend of BYOD. =>Employees no longer need to be in
the company’s office in order to work.
+ Financial savings
- Businesses take advantage of a mobile workforce without investing company funds in
the apps. => Saving cost
- Businesses do not have to buy devices for each of their employees. => Saving cost
- Mobile devices have helped employees are responsible for troubleshooting and repairs
of their personal equipment.
● SAP, a leading global vendor of enterprise software, is another tech company that has
implemented BYOD successfully. SAP has created a security system for decommissioning
a mobile device within a minute whenever a smartphone or tablet is lost or stolen.
Disadvantages
+ Security
- Protecting corporate data and networks becomes more difficult => Lack of information
- IT departments can’t control information about what apps or programs are installed,
how the devices are secured, or what files are downloaded.
- IT department requires to manage passwords, back-up software, antivirus software, or
specific password protection policies be implemented.
+ Productivity
- Employees are not focused on working because they are distracted on social platforms
such as Facebook, messenger,...for entertainment or catching up with friends, text
messaging, YouTube videos, and checking Facebook updates.
- The policy is the potential lack of trust between workers and management when
management has access to personal data on employee devices.
+ Financial problem
- Support for personally owned devices is more difficult than it is for company-supplied
devices.
- The cost of managing mobile devices can increase.
- When employees make changes to their personal phone, such as switching cellular
carriers, changing their phone number, or buying a new mobile device altogether,
companies will need to quickly and flexibly ensure that their employees are still able to
remain productive.
+ Lack of consistency
- All employees were using different devices that is not easier to keep track of each
mobile device. (Today, the mobile digital landscape is much more complicated, with a
variety of devices and operating systems on the market that do not have well-developed
tools for administration and security) <= Limitations on the types of devices employees
can use: Apple products such as iPads
- When an employee leaves the company, it may be necessary to remove the company’s
private information from his (her) device.
In conclusion, there are several pros and cons you should take into consideration before
implementing a BYOD program, so before implementing a BYOD program, employees and
employers might fully understand the program’s policies and perils in order to become familiar
with these key pros and cons. For example:
● ensure that the device owner's data and the organization’s data are kept separate
● ensure that staff cannot inadvertently or deliberately move the organization’s data into
their personal storage on the device or onto separate personally owned devices
● be aware that the device's security may be compromised and plan accordingly, eg
update out-of-date and unpatched operating systems or software
● a written policy outlining both the employer's and the user's responsibilities
 ● a user agreement, acknowledging that they have read and understood the policy

https://datascope.io/en/blog/advantages-and-disadvantages-of-byod-bring-your-own-device/
https://www.nibusinessinfo.co.uk/content/bring-your-own-device-benefits-and-risks