Companies should keep a check on how extensively they implement BYOD
If they have the resources that enable them to do so, businesses like to stay ahead of the curve – or at least keep up with the latest trends as they develop and become more commonplace.
With one of the most recent and increasingly popular working practices being the development of Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) strategies, many companies have been looking at ways to encourage their employees to use their personal gadgets in the office without compromising the security of their networks.
So as the trend has continued to grow, managers have been trying to balance the cost-saving benefits with the possible security pitfalls, and business communications specialists Shoretel believe that this is possible depending on how extensively firms pursue a BYOD policy.
"We’re happy to promote BYOD in a voice-only type environment, because we know it will work for the majority of organisations," said Shoretel’s Nick Rathod, mobility lead EMEA.
Yet while the organisation believes there are benefits to be had with having employees use their own devices for voice communications, Mr Rathod highlights that accessing more sensitive data on a range of platforms could pose some significant problems.
"In some environments, a hindrance might be that when an organisation chooses to go BYOD, they might have emails that hold very sensitive and confidential data," he added.
"So when you’re talking that level of scrutiny, you’re going to be very conscious of someone outside of the organisation getting hold of it."
Given the sensitive nature of files that are often sent via email, having staff access such documents on their personal gadgets increases the risk of it falling into the wrong hands if the necessary security measures are not in place.
Taking such risks into account, having the appropriate data protection systems in place for a digital mailroom could be vital for businesses that promote BYOD for accessing confidential emails.