These days many people have more powerful tech at home than on their desk, so it's little surprise that they want to bring their own devices into the office.
It might help them work more efficiently, but if you're going to let your staff bring in their own phones and tablets it's a good idea to spell out the rights and responsibilities of both staff and the business.
What if someone loses or damages a phone?
Make clear whether or not your business accepts responsibility for replacing or repairing their personal gadgets. Even if the device is still under warranty, keep in mind that repairs under a consumer-grade warranty can take much longer than under a business-grade warranty. How will your staff do their job while their gadgets are out of action? Who is responsible for providing a temporary replacement?
Are your sensitive files protected?
Some businesses will insist that staff take certain security precautions with their devices before they're granted access to the company email, calendars, contacts and other sensitive documents.
How could you do this? You could password-protect devices, run anti-virus or even block people from installing certain third-party software.
It's important to establish how these policies will be enforced and the consequences if they're not adhered to.
The most controversial policy you can set in place is to remotely wipe "bring-from-home" gadgets if they've been lost. Business software like Microsoft Exchange and ActiveSync or Blackberry Enterprise Server and Mobile Fusion let you do this with consumer gadgets.
Keep in mind that if you remotely wipe a lost device, tou'll also be wiping photographs and other personal data stored on the device.
This risk that staff might lost their personal data means it's vital to have a remote wiping policy in writing, to which staff must agree, spelling out the circumstances under which a device will be wiped clean. If remote wipe capabilities are not appropriate, then you might need to investigate more advanced (and expensive) Mobile Device Management options which offer selective remote wipe rather than all or nothing.
