Could BYOD Become Mandatory for Many Offices by 2016?

The growing trend of bring-your-own-device to work could become a business norm as early as 2016, according to a recent study by Gartner, a technology research firm.

A survey of chief information officers found that 38 percent of companies expect to stop providing devices to workers by that year.

Some other highlights of the research  (opens in a new tab):

The larger the company … BYOD is more common in mid- to large-sized companies—those generating $500 million to $5 billion in revenue per year with 2,500 to 5,000 employees.

Geographic trends: Workers in BRIC nations (Brazil, Russia, India, and China) are most likely already using a personal device at work. U.S. companies are more likely to allow BYOD than those in Europe, probably because the United States has better data regulation.

Who’s paying? Around half of all BYOD programs provide a partial reimbursement to employees, with full reimbursement costs likely to become more rare. “The enterprise should subsidize only the service plan on a smartphone,” Gartner vice president and analyst David Willis said in a statement  (opens in a new tab). “What happens if you buy a device for an employee and they leave the job a month later? How are you going to settle up? Better to keep it simple. The employee owns the device, and the company helps to cover usage costs.”

Even if the BYOD trend takes longer to cement itself, IT departments are grappling with the constant changes in today’s technology and will have to become that much more flexible to keep business information safe, secure, and efficient.

What challenges has your association and its IT department overcome in recent years? What plans have you developed to deal with future technology? Let us know in the comment section.

(Creatas/Thinkstock)