Want a Job? BYOD or Buh-bye.

If you work in the financial service or Health service industry federal Privacy and and Security legislation pretty much rules out using your own devices for anything other than making a phone call or sending emails at lunch.

Add in law and accounting firms that service these industries (they will be held to the same standards as their clients by the FEDS) and you really don't have much left that will really be allowed to BYOD. Industries that already rely heavily on free-lancers like design, journalism and IT services could see this trend increase, but with their heavy use of free-lancers already this is not much of a change for them.

I can attest that the banks, financial services and health insurance companies I work at are going in the exact opposite direction as this article suggests. They are locking down their networks and prohibiting all non-company equipment. Guests get a separate guest wifi network to use, and it has no connections to the company's network.

Within the corporate network email is heavily monitored. All attachments are deleted to addresses outside the corporation.

Working in industries that are heavily regulated and the privacy and security of other people's data is a high priority I do not see any evidence of this trend. Quite the opposite.

You should see how long it takes my corporate Windows XP based laptop to boot with all the extra security software that is loaded!

Yes and no,... Yes, insurance companies are locking down networks, but no,... they are not prohibiting BYOD,... at least not in the sales channels. In my company, you can still get a blackberry or an iPhone, and get your Lotus Notes emails. The company doesn't support Android. Supporting Android would mean a server upgrade, and they're too lazy (and cheap) to do it.

I'm working for a non-profit in the health insurance industry. They are too cheap to support mobile devices, but for non-profits, cheap is good.

I work at a financial company, too, and apparently I am saddled with the same Windows XP boat anchor. It takes so long to boot the usual policy is to login, then go to the cafeteria to pick up breakfast. Upon return it may be done booting.

I suspect that the situation is different for different environments.

I can see the BYOD situation being great in the sales environment. If you're a sales person then you're going to be well connected with equipment that you prefer to use.

Here at the software house I work, source code is only permitted on company hardware, NO exceptions. User hardware is permitted on the network, but only for Internet access. I think this is the situation at most places and I can't think that this will change in the near future. Corporate espionage, hacking and the virus epidemic is not going away and it will only get worse.

I can't see the benefits for companies where security is a big deal allowing any devices anything other than cursory and firewalled access to company networked resources.

Most large enterprises I've worked at don't allow "foreign" devices because they can't control security on them. In other words, employees, contractors and consultants are expressly forbidden from bringing their own devices. That is standard security practice. Once again, Ken Hess has written an interesting little article which is largely divorced from reality.

@khess

Quoting:“If your employer or prospective employer requires you to BYOD, would you keep or take the job?”.

Depends, are they giving me an allowance or is the pay differential great enough to cover the expenses? Then, yes. Your analogy is a little deceiving, because companies that require uniforms, specialized work boots, etc. give an allowance. Even as a sysadmin, my employer pays mileage to off-site visits or conferences and training. So, they don't pay me commute to and from work, but to related business.

As a work related expense, there are tax issues too, I'll let my accountant take care of that. I'm interpreting your articles as black and white, I don't know if you mean them that way, but that's how they are coming across. Everything virtual and everything BYOD, which may be your reality, as others I'm sure, but not everyone’s reality.

Hope this wasn't too anti-Hess for you. I must be getting soft in my old age :^)

@ JaseP

Pardon my ignorance, but:

Why would supporting Android devices (as opposed to iOS or Blackberry) require a server upgrade?

Is there actually a technical issue?

Is this moron still trolling with these "articles" of his? Why does anyone read this garbage?

He is not a moron, he's an experienced IT professional, just ask him.

And I'm Linus Torvalds. Just ask me and I'll confirm it.

I've always wanted to meet you Linus. Hello from Queensland.