BYOD
PRINT
IT
RESELLER.UK
15
Joe Doyle,
Marketing Director,
Annodata
According to Annodata, without
an enforceable plan in place, these
organisations may be leaving
themselves exposed to the risk of
data leakage and any benefits to be
had from BYOD will be lessened.
Considering, the strict guidelines
on data security in the public sector,
especially when it comes to protecting
the confidential information of citizens,
the MSP says that it’s vital to have a clear
BYOD strategy in place before employees
use their own devices to access an
organisation’s data.
“BYOD can bring clear benefits in the
form of greater flexibility and increased
productivity. However, any gains to be had
from BYOD will be null and void if there is
not a clear policy to accompany this,” said
Marketing Director Joe Doyle.
“The risk of not giving BYOD
appropriate consideration can result
in companies being left exposed to an
increased risk of data leakage, whilst also
making it difficult to determine which
devices are accessing which systems and
data. Employees want to use their own
devices and experience tells us that they
will, with or without a standard. Having a
BYOD policy grants organisations greater
visibility and control over this,” he added.
With the introduction of the General
Data Protection Regulation (GDPR),
controlling who has access to company
data and from what devices, this is
set to become even more important.
Organisations will face serious legal and
financial repercussions, with fines of up to
four per cent of total revenue.
“The public sector in particular needs
to approach BYOD with due diligence and
special emphasis needs to be placed on
security when employees are using their
own devices to access an organisation’s
data. Despite this, the research highlights
that a number of local authorities are yet
to implement specific and enforceable
measures,” Doyle stated.
Annodata issued a Freedom of Information (FoI) request that found 42 per cent
of council districts in England do not have a BYOD policy in place, a status that
the MSP warns puts data at risk
Absence of BYOD policies
puts data at risk
Doyle argues that this is the ideal
opportunity for council districts, and other
public sector organisations, to revise
their approach to existing IT polices and
how data is managed. “Doing so will
minimise the risks associated with BYOD
and will enable the real benefits, including
increased productivity and efficiency, to
be attained. Local authorities should look
to work with the right provider who can
conduct a thorough and comprehensive
review of their current approach,” he said.
“With the trend towards BYOD gaining
increasing traction, technology is there to
support this initiative, especially as vendors
are working to improve the efficiency and
security of mobile solutions. Employees
now wish to use their personal devices at
work in order to streamline processes and
make their lives easier; they want to have
the same print capabilities and access to
documents on their mobile device as they
do when using their desktop. A BYOD
strategy should be top of the agenda for
organisations that don’t currently have one
in place. Considering that digital workflow
is becoming more important than ever,
seamless printer access is just one way that
BYOD can enable the local authorities to
be more productive and efficient,” Doyle
concluded.
A separate FOI request to determine
the adoption of cloud-based solutions in
the public sector, revealed that while 58
per cent of councils are using the cloud
to some extent, only six per cent have
implemented any form of cloud-based
printing.
Employees
want to use
their own
devices and
experience
tells us that
they will,
with or
without a
standard
