The "bring your own device" (BYOD) movement is in full swing. Though many IT professionals are resistant to the concept, it presents benefits as well as challenges. Ultimately, this is more of a revitalized idea than a new one, as employees using their own laptops is a fairly old concept. However, smart phones and tablets in business brought BYOD management issues to a whole new level, as these devices create more security and standardization problems.

The Challenges

Android apps have been tricky because too many seem legitimate but are malware ridden, which is perhaps why many businesses prefer iOS devices. Regardless, security is one of the biggest issues with these mobile devices in the work place. Perhaps the next biggest issue is standardization. Both the App Store (iOS) and Market (Android) have many different apps, which means a lot of variables when it comes to what app each employee is using. This can present formatting and synchronization issues, especially if you have some employees using iOS and others using Android. It can cause many headaches, to say the least.

The Benefits

Your business can save exponential amounts of money by not buying employee hardware. On top of initial investment, it means not having to replace a lost, stolen, or broken device either. This bridges a gap between midsize and large businesses. The larger budget associated with big businesses means they can afford to outfit their employees with the best technology. With the BYOD movement, it's a non-issue: employees are buying it for themselves. On the employee end, it's a win for them, because they get to use their favorite devices at work and at home, instead of only being able to use their company device for work. Indeed, a Mitch Lieberman article details why this "device explosion" isn't bad and you should "just deal with it."

Bridging the Other Gap

The next step in BYOD management is bridging the other gap--making these devices easy to manage so the negatives don't outweigh the positives. There are tools on the way to help midsize businesses do this. Though there's no word on when Microsoft will be releasing their management tools through Active directory, IBM has already released a beta version of End Point Manager for Mobile Devices. As more competition comes into the market, midsize businesses will have more options to help them embrace the BYOD movement, and hopefully allow it to grow the business through the management and utilization of the unique capabilities of these devices.

But what do you do in the meantime? It may be a little while before IBM unleashes the final release, and who knows how long other services will take. Employees aren't going to wait; it's already happening. You have three options. First, you could deliberately not support the devices and try to make employees wait, but that probably won't end well. You're probably already aware they'd just rebel, which could result in an infected network or just general unpleasantness.

You could try making do with mobile device management (MDM) tools, though on their own these haven't had great performance. Ideally, this might work if coupled with the third option: delegating some of your IT team to creating a security and standardization policy as a temporary project until better tools are available. For example, creating a list of company-approved apps for iOS (for standardization) and Android (for security and standardization). Google is now scanning apps, so hopefully there will be less issue. That coupled with MDM tools might be enough to get you through the BYOD issue until services are more advanced.

This post was written as part of the IBM for Midsize Business program, which provides midsize businesses with the tools, expertise and solutions they need to become engines of a smarter planet.