At present, BYOD policies are not being followed stringently by SMBs – 55% of SBs and 43% of MBs do not place any restrictions on employees regarding the brands of Smartphones used for business. These are a few highlights from “2013 India SMB Mobility Landscape, Opportunity Assessment & Outlook” study conducted by AMI-Partners.
Mobility needs are, indeed, paramount among India SMBs. A huge majority of them have employees travelling regularly to build relationships with their business partners across cities, states and even national borders at times.
Study reports that there is a plethora of choices in the devices space with respect to form factors, Operating Systems, applications, aesthetics, etc. At the same time, there is no clear way forward in BYOD as yet.
Rati Ghose, Director – Market Insights, AMI-Partners India, said, “Through many conversations with CIOs and CEOs over the past few months, it is becoming evident that BYOD is seen as an inevitable trend by senior management. They look to themselves when evaluating this trend. Often, they would be toggling between personal and official devices. Since they enjoy a seamless experience themselves, they do not wish to deprive the team of the benefits.”
While BYOD is most definitively a trend, the market is nascent with respect to usage policies and security. Despite the threats that abound with a BYOD policy, SMBs are not taking enough precautions. The time and cost organizations need to spend on proper BYOD policies seems daunting to the SMBs.
