Do you remember the famous Al Pacino quote from The Godfather Part III movie “Just when I thought I was out…they pull me back in.” That’s a little how I feel today.
No, I don’t consider myself by ANY stretch of the imagination to be the G*dfather of enterprise mobility, but I do feel as if I am getting sucked back in to debating the merits (and risks) of a BYOD strategy. On yesterday’s plane, I actually was able to read – are you ready?? – a REAL, honest to goodness news paper!!! Yes, I actually read parts of the print edition of the Wall Street Journal.
There, I found an article/debate entitled “Should Employees Be Allowed to Use Their Own Devices for Work?” Sound familiar? It took me a while, but I was finally able to find the online version of this debate. Debater #1 John Parkinson said “Yes: It is Inevitable,” while debater #2 Erik Sherman said “No: It’s a Legal Mess.”
I guess I have to accept that this is still a highly debated and important issue. It’s a shame that I felt wanting more than what I got from the two sides of the debate:
- Side #1: “Then there’s the entitlement factor. Many people feel it’s OK to use a device for both business and a reasonable amount of pleasure.” I would actually flip it because I think Mr. Parkinson is completely missing the point. They want to use their personal devices to be able to access what they need for work….not the other way around. I let you read the rest of it, but I think his arguments for why BYOD is OK are just disjointed.
- Side #2: “That means the company may not have any legal claim to the hardware itself.” Two words to Mr. Sherman: Who cares???? We in the world of enterprise mobility already understand that the hardware is not what’s important, but it’s the applications and the data that matter! He continues by saying “Want to fire or lay off employees? Sorry, but those electronic devices are theirs, and managers can’t just confiscate them to erase sensitive corporate data and programs.” he obviously doesn’t understand how an enterprise mobility management system, in conjunction with clear and strong mobility policies that have been signed by the employees make his point completely invalid.
I applaud The Wall Street Journal for bringing up this very important topic, but I’m not sure if the two people who debated the issue did the topic any service. I guess it’s going to be up to us to keep on talking about this issue until everyone understands the REAL pros and cons of developing a Bring Your Own Device strategy.
1 
0
The BYOD Debate Continues
No, I don’t consider myself by ANY stretch of the imagination to be the G*dfather of enterprise mobility, but I do feel as if I am getting sucked back in to debating the merits (and risks) of a BYOD strategy. On yesterday’s plane, I actually was able to read – are you ready?? – a REAL, honest to goodness news paper!!! Yes, I actually read parts of the print edition of the Wall Street Journal.
There, I found an article/debate entitled “Should Employees Be Allowed to Use Their Own Devices for Work?” Sound familiar? It took me a while, but I was finally able to find the online version of this debate. Debater #1 John Parkinson said “Yes: It is Inevitable,” while debater #2 Erik Sherman said “No: It’s a Legal Mess.”
I guess I have to accept that this is still a highly debated and important issue. It’s a shame that I felt wanting more than what I got from the two sides of the debate:
I applaud The Wall Street Journal for bringing up this very important topic, but I’m not sure if the two people who debated the issue did the topic any service. I guess it’s going to be up to us to keep on talking about this issue until everyone understands the REAL pros and cons of developing a Bring Your Own Device strategy.