Business owners may be tempted to ask their employees to use their personal cell phones and tablets for work. After all, it seems you can save a bit of money by having your employees bring their own devices (BYOD) to work.

 

But before you go down the BYOD path, consider this: there are major risks and drawbacks to intermingling business and personal use on any device—and in the end, the costs of letting employees use personal cell phones and tablets for work can far outweigh any savings you might reap.

 

Here are three important reasons to consider providing your employees with cell phones or tablets and a business mobile plan:

 

  1. It’s far more secure.

 

Your business security should be a top priority, as one data breach or cyber attack can be extraordinarily costly and painful to recover from. When you let your employees use personal devices for work, you’re opening up the potential for far more data theft and other security breaches.

 

Having a business mobile plan and providing employees with devices allows you to keep your business information and data off personal devices. You can ensure those devices have effective and updated security software installed on them and are equipped with security-boosting tools, such as a password management app. You can also use a mobile device management (MDM) app to better secure your devices, such as by automatically erasing all data remotely if a device is stolen or lost.

 

Another benefit: When an employee leaves your company, you can get your device back and needn’t worry as much about sensitive business information or data being stored on former employees’ personal devices.

 

A 2022 survey found that business leaders who provide mobile to their employees think their companies are more secure and less exposed to risk.

 

  1. You can make sure your employees have all the apps they need to do their jobs—from anywhere.

 

It’s no secret that remote working has soared over the past few years, and mobile devices have propelled that trend. The ability to access business apps and tools on those mobile devices has also been a major driver.

 

From video conferencing to all-in-one communication tools, pretty much every major business software program now has a mobile app.

 

If you supply your team with their business mobile devices and cellular plan, you can ensure they’re equipped with the apps and tools that your employees need to do their jobs and be more efficient and effective. Just as importantly, you can make sure your employees aren’t downloading personal apps on their business devices that may present security risks.

 

  1. It’s more affordable than you might think.

 

How much are you really saving when you don’t get your employees a business mobile? Probably not much, if anything.

 

Companies that ask employees to use personal devices for work often end up paying those employees a monthly stipend to help cover their personal cell phone bills. The 2022 survey found that 98% of companies with a BYOD policy pay a monthly stipend, and that amount is, on average, $40.20 per employee per month.

 

That is actually more than a business might spend for each employee on a business cell phone plan.

 

When doing the math to figure out whether a business mobile plan is worth it, you’ll want to add up all of the costs—both direct and indirect—that you could or would incur by relying on personal devices. In the end, you’ll probably discover that a business mobile plan is the more affordable option.

 

Spectrum Business Mobile plans start at just $14.99 per line per month (for a per-gigabyte data plan and unlimited talk and text) and $29.99 per month for an unlimited data, talk and text plan. Also, businesses that bundle Spectrum Business Internet with either Spectrum Business Voice or Spectrum Business Connect can get one free business mobile line. Want to learn more? Contact us at 855-299-9353. 

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