Factors to consider when developing an organisation-wide bring your own device (BYOD) strategy for adoption.

Abstract

The use of a mobile device has now become a part of humans’ day-to-day activities; this also includes activities in the workplace. Organisations are learning of their workforce tenacious desire to use their personally owned mobile devices to carry out work activities; hence, a large number of corporate employees are requesting for the company's Information Technology (IT) division to make provision for these devices. Organisations have come to terms with the reality of their inability to prevent the utilisation of mobile artefacts (smartphones and tablets) for both personal and work purposes, but they are expected to know how to regulate how these devices impact its network ecosystem. The sudden surge of Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) within an organisation nonetheless, emanates, primarily because of the global growth in the use of mobile artefacts (smartphones and tablets), combined with the emerging acceptance and the universal presence of media-sharing tools. However, evidence shows that the growth in the proliferation of employees’ mobile devices within the workplace can cause a significant information security problem that many organisations are not equipped to address. This study entailed an investigation of the factors that IT managers need to consider when devising a strategy for the use of individually owned BYOD artefacts such as smartphones and electronic tablets within the workplace. The overall aim of the study was to document a set of factors that needs to be given priority consideration before employees are allowed the privilege of bringing personal computing devices into the confines of the organisational IT infrastructure. The study adopted a qualitative research approach utilising a non-probability (purposive) sampling technique. Interviews were used to elicit information on the factors to consider when developing a BYOD strategy for adoption, the interviews were conducted among fourteen (14) senior executives in various organisations in eThekwini Municipal Region, South Africa that either consider IT to be mission-critical because the business relies on it to operate or where IT services is the fundamental thing that the business does. The data collected were analysed using a thematic analysis. From the study's findings, the key factors that IT managers need to consider when implementing strategies for using personal devices (smartphones and tablets) within an organisation are framed into a selected set of four larger components. These four components; policy development, employee education, data security and mobile work-learning, further revealed that sub-factors such as systems management, policy review, authorised usage, limitations of liability, data segregation, data encryption, use of a strong password for the following types of authentication (device, user, and container), virtual private network, employee education and training, ease of communication and micro-app development are considered as important factors when it concerns the development of a BYOD strategy in an organisation.