Methods for how to best deal with personal devices at work

Whether they are satisfying the demands of mobile professionals or taking advantage of cost benefits, many companies today either already support personally owned devices or plan to do so in the near future.

Managing these smartphones and tablets can be a headache for most companies, but a recent Dark Reading report identified several practices that can ease such challenges. Dealing with consumerization head-on will actually bring out more of the trend's benefits, an industry expert told the news provider.

"This is something that every company is dealing with," Juniper vice president Sanjay Beri said, according to Dark Reading. "Companies should embrace it. It is definitely the right thing to do to empower your employees."

Following the steps identified by Dark Reading and Beri will ensure that a company's mobile device management practice runs smoothly.

Don't ban devices

The quick and easy response from many companies may be to place an embargo on any and all personally owned devices. This will quickly reveal itself as a mistake, the report stated.

In addition to reducing costs, because the employees buy the devices out of their own pockets, productivity gains can also be squeezed out of personal smartphones and tablets. These are usually the result of end-users being more comfortable with a device and utilizing it more often.

Audit and inventory devices

There's perhaps no better way for a company to protect itself than knowing exactly what devices and which end-users are connecting to the enterprise network, the report said. That way, the IT department will have a better idea of what it's up against and be empowered to mitigate known risks of certain mobile platforms.

Draft and deploy policies

All employees could use a little guidance now and again, and it's up to the company to push a mobility policy out to users. This will help the organization determine whether or not a device is allowed to access the network. A policy can also be used to educate employees on best practices and appropriate use of devices.

Related to the ban on devices, companies also aren't advised to place "block all" blanket policies on which devices can access the network, according to Dark Reading.

Several similar areas, including the need for a mobile device inventory, were also identified by a recent list of best practices compiled by CMSWire.