IT abbreviations are all the rage right now. Have you heard about the new kid on the block? It's CYOD and stands for Choose-Your-Own-Device. It could be the answer to organisations' concerns over Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) - namely supporting a range of operating systems, keeping confidential business data confidential, and increasing costs.
Computer World's Adam Bender has written a good piece which introduces choose-your-own-device and then debates BYOD vs CYOD. He says:
Offering employees a choice of approved devices may provide more control for IT compared to allowing them to bring any smartphone or tablet they want.
However, choose-your-own-device (CYOD) strategies also mean less freedom for employees and may not provide as high satisfaction as bring your own device (BYOD), say analysts.
CYOD means more control
Under a CYOD scheme, IT managers “can support a limited set of devices and not feel overburdened by the multitude of devices staff can choose from which are available from a public online or retail store,” says Telsyte analyst Rodney Gedda.
Ovum analyst Richard Absalom says limiting the number of devices “makes it easier to find a solution that can secure and manage the corporate data on those devices.”
“Businesses can let employees choose from devices that they are sure can be managed and secured to the required extent.”
CYOD is especially handy for dealing with Android fragmentation—the multitude of different Android versions on different phones on the market, says Absalom.
“CYOD would ensure that only the most up to date (and secure) versions of the OS would be supported,” he says.
BYOD offers freedom
“The trade-off [with CYOD] is narrowing down what BYOD is supposed to provide in the first place—freedom to choose which device suits the user best, including devices that are at the forefront of technology,” says Gedda.
Absalom says the “right range of devices” under CYOD may provide the same employee satisfaction offered by BYOD.
However, the analysts agree that keeping that list up-to-date will consume IT resources.
Read the full story on Computer World (the verdict and further debate) >>
