The acronyms, BYOD (bring your own device) and BYOA (bring your own application), refer to a growing trend in the business world to let employees use personal smartphones, portable devices and applications for work purposes. In 2013, more than 6 out of 10 small and medium-sized businesses had a BYOD policy. By 2020, it is estimated that 85% of businesses will have some kind of BYOD program in place.

The BYOD and BYOA age is driven by a variety of business factors and policies. And while the practices offer many advantages, there are several security-related risks businesses need to be aware of to protect company data and brand.

Factors Driving the Rise of BYOD and BYOA Policies in Business

As modern smartphones grow in functionality and reliability, smaller businesses are finding it harder to justify the investment of providing them to employees. Businesses can save a great deal on licensing and software costs by allowing employees to use their own.

Businesses also benefit from the power and conveniences employees enjoy using devices they’re intimately familiar with. This can be a boon to productivity. So can giving employees the flexibility to use their favorite spreadsheet, calendar and other productivity apps for business tasks. In many cases, the devices businesses can afford to provide are no match for the high-end, multi-featured smartphones employees will spring for on their own.

BYOD/BYOA Risks

Of course, there are network security and compliance risks associated with BYOD/BYOA trends—especially at smaller businesses with limited IT resources.

By giving up control of the devices and applications employees use to connect to business systems and resources, companies add to the vulnerability of business networks. Devices lost, stolen or inadvertently misused by employees can transport viruses and malware that can infect corporate servers and wreak havoc on business performance and brand reputation.

With BYOD and BYOA, there are compromises that businesses of any size need to address. SMBs that want to realize the full advantage of a BYOD/BYOA culture need to approach device and application security in a manner that drives productivity and protects company data. This calls for creating a secure business environment that combines policy, cybersecurity technology and education to protect the integrity of devices and data.

Clear, enforceable protocols on the mutual responsibilities of employees and IT to information security are a must. So is ongoing education on existing and anticipated cyber risks and how to avoid them. Moving data storage and management to the cloud and using data encryption is a cost-effective approach for SMBs that want to avoid the cost and headaches of replacing outdated legacy network systems.

The gaining momentum of BYOD and BYOA trends presents a real opportunity to business that can harness its power without risking valuable corporate assets.

Resilient works with the latest technological resources such as Fortinet to ensure businesses have the security to protect corporate assets while enjoying BYOD and BYOA productivity and performance.