It seems simple enough. BYOD-Bring Your Own Device, is a new fact of the business world that is quickly becoming unmasked for what it potentially might be: the new 600 pound gorilla in your risk room.
The BYOD phenomenon has quietly asserted itself into the business world without much thought given to the risk of it all. How is this advantageous to your company? What are the legal and insurance implications? What about fraud and theft of company information?
Recent research has noted that about 75% of all businesses in the country allow for BYOD. What has become startling, and worrisome, however, is that 75% of that 75% have no formal company policy regarding allowing employees to use their personal devices for work related endeavors. More and more company employees are accessing company information via their smartphones, tablets and laptops. In addition, the advent of cloud computing has made such access much easier than it use to be.
Insurance protection has begun to become a major concern. Can a business owner transfer this new risk onto an insurance policy? New specialist device insurance has begun to crop up but business owners really need to sit down with their risk and insurance advisors to see what may make sense for their situation. Sorting out coverage can be a tricky thing. What are the insurance coverage responsibilities if an employ has one of their devices stolen or lost or broken?
While many small businesses see BYOD as a way to increase productivity and save some money on technology, few are really taking a hard look at the risk. One generally ignored risk is employee burnout. Some companies do really demand that their employees be at their beck and call 24 hours a day. It is happening everywhere. The psychological implications have begun to surface much to the long term detriment of many companies.
One thing is for certain, the small business owner needs to protect themselves from this probable risk by putting certain security procedures in place and to ensure their enforcement.
A basic BYOD policy needs to spell out exactly what is permissible and what the penalties are for breaching these policies. What are the ownership rights and responsibilities? Who actually owns the data on your employee’s phone or tablet? Who pays the replacement cost? Is the insurance coverage shared with the employee?
The reality of BYOD in today’s business world is not something that will ever go away. What the savvy small business owner does is to immediately address this growing risk and sit with his insurance and risk advisor to put together a safe and sustainable plan going forward.
