There is a common misconception that BYOD will be the savior of IT budget troubles; however, it’s not always as cost-effective as it seems. According to Aberdeen, enterprises spend an extra $170,000 per year to deploy 1,000 mobile devices via BYOD. A typical BYOD model costs 33% more than the traditional corporate-wireless model.
Recently, we contributed a slideshow to eWeek on the top 10 hidden costs of BYOD – here is a preview:
- Bandwidth overload. Employees feel much more comfortable streaming video, music or visiting personal sites during company time on their own devices, but that still eats up network bandwidth. Without the tools to monitor network performance – and see who the top bandwidth consumers are – the rest of the company is forced to ‘grin and bear’ slower performance.
- Time is money. How many fires do you put out every day? It’s exhausting. Add another with BYOD. Network admins can lose precious time having to evaluate each and every rogue device. In other words, there’s a big difference between a corporate neighbor and a van in the parking lot. Rogue devices may be unknown to the network, but they aren’t always a threat. Companies with the ability to exclude safe devices can streamline the monitoring process.
- Funding the help desk. People who boast the money saved via BYOD are only looking at the glass half full – overlooking the impact on IT resources like the help desk. Although employees will foot the wireless bill, they will still expect the help desk to fix any problems with devices or software. According to a recent Gartner survey of enterprise IT pros, the help desk is already impacted by this demand. Of those surveyed, 32 percent are expected to support and service smart phones – with an addition 37 percent supporting tablets and 44 percent supporting laptops.
At the end of the day, employees don’t care if IT has the policies and tools in place to protect the network. To them, using mobile devices isn’t a trend or a budget issue; it’s the new normal for working in the corporate world. However, by investing in tools and setting policies to gain proper visibility and control, IT can accommodate what employees want with what they need for optimal network performance. Bottom line – BYOD can be a win-win.