Small and mid-sized businesses show strong support for BYOD initiatives

The proliferation of mobile devices in the workplace and the growing support for bring-your-own-device (BYOD) initiatives are clear trends global small and mid-sized businesses (SMBs) are experiencing first-hand, according to the results of a recent survey by Spiceworks. The study “As BYOD Becomes Mainstream, Complexity Increases for SMBs” revealed that 61 percent of SMBs have implemented a BYOD policy. However, despite this shift toward greater support, only 37 percent are managing or plan to manage mobile devices using a mobile device management (MDM) offering. The independent study was sponsored by Fiberlink, a leading provider of mobility management solutions for businesses.

“BYOD represents one of the most significant opportunities for businesses of all sizes to innovate, drive employee satisfaction, and reduce cost,” said Neil Florio, VP of Marketing at Fiberlink. “As our customers embrace wider BYOD strategies, they need more agile and flexible tools to manage policies, support users, and secure corporate data. Cloud-based mobile device management is foundational to the success of these initiatives.”
In order to identify mobile device trends at SMBs, Spiceworks surveyed 991 SMB IT professionals to better understand how their companies are managing their BYOD initiatives and associated devices. Highlights from the recent survey include:

BYOD Impact on IT
· Overall, 61 percent of SMBs have implemented a BYOD policy or initiative for employee-owned smartphones, tablets or computers.
· Fifty-four percent of SMBs support employee-owned smartphones and 42 percent support tablets through a BYOD initiative. Twenty-five percent support employee-owned computers.
· Of those companies with BYOD policies, 91 percent and 92 percent of respondents support Apple iPhone and iPad devices respectively. Ninety percent support Google Android-based smartphones and 83 percent support Android-based tablets.
· Smaller SMBs with fewer than 250 employees are more likely to have a BYOD policy, with 69 percent saying they support BYOD today. Fifty-three percent of mid-sized businesses with 250-999 employees noted BYOD support.
· One-third of IT professionals note their BYOD policy works well for some devices and poorly for others, while 23 percent say it’s a headache for their department. Only 17 percent fully embrace the trend.

MDM Technology Adoption Shows Promise
· Of those organizations that support BYOD, only 17 percent are actively managing mobile devices using a mobile device management offering and an additional 20 percent have plans to address the management of mobile devices in the next six months. However, 56 percent have no plans to implement a MDM solution at this time.
· Companies with more than 250 employees have a higher adoption rate of MDM technologies, with 21 percent having already adopted or currently implementing and another 25 percent planning to do so within six months.
· When asked why they had not deployed a MDM solution, 49 percent said they do not perceive big enough security threats to warrant the investment despite recognizing they do exist. Thirty-six percent claim they lack the knowledge to proceed with the implementation of a MDM technology, and another 34 percent cite budgetary concerns.
· Of the respondents investing in MDM technologies, more than half (53 percent) selected cloud-based solutions.

“It’s clear BYOD support will continue to grow so the industry conversation must evolve from ‘whether to how’ IT organizations can better manage and secure the devices employees bring to work each day,” said Kathryn Pribish, Voice of IT program manager at Spiceworks. “The results of the survey also highlight an opportunity for mobile device management vendors to help SMBs understand the issues associated with BYOD policies and how MDM offerings can help.”