Definition

BYOD policy

A BYOD policy, or bring-your-own-device policy, is a set of rules governing a corporate IT department’s level of support for employee-owned PCs, smartphones and tablets.

A BYOD policy can take many different forms. Some organizations cut back on corporate-issued PCs and laptops, instead giving employees a stipend to purchase and maintain technology equipment of their choosing. More commonly, however, organizations will agree to support personal mobile devices -- at least to some degree -- in addition to corporate-issued equipment. The rules in a BYOD policy often vary depending on a user’s role in the organization, his or her specific device, application requirements and other factors.

The consumerization of IT has highlighted the need for bring-your-own-device policy development. Employees use their own PCs and mobile devices for business tasks whether their IT departments support them or not, and a BYOD policy can help control this usage and mitigate its security risks.

Related glossary terms: Android Factory Reset, AT&T Toggle, BlackBerry Balance, bring your own network (BYON), Google Apps for Business, dual persona (mobile device management), BlackBerry Enterprise Server (BES), remote wipe, Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync , mobile virtualization

Contributor(s): Colin Steele

This was last updated in December 2011

Posted by: Margaret Rouse

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