I’ve read more than a couple of stories that claim that BYOD doesn’t save money but sends service costs spiraling out of control. The main cause is that companies either subsidize or out right pay an employees service charges. The employee selects a device and a plan and then expenses the plan. This is a different concept of BYOD than what I’ve been use to practicing. Most organizations I’ve been a part of has allowed some form of BYOD. The first organization I was at required me to purchase my own mobile device but paid my service charges. I didn’t get an option on what plan I was offered. I selected my device and the corporate communications team would provision my phone number and plan.
The other option I’ve been given or have given users is for them to bring their own device and service plan and be allowed access to the corporate network. This appealed to some users, especially marketing and sales types as they took their number with them when the left the organization. This is why I’ve always considered BYOD as a method to save money. As an IT Manager I don’t see the appeal of offering an employee to both purchase and control the plan associated with their mobile device. I’m all for giving choice of tools to allow a user to use to do their work but uncontrolled plans makes no sense to me. What has been your organization approach to expenses associated with BYOD?
