A 2018 survey of 500 senior IT and business leaders conducted by Oxford Economics showed that 80% of the respondents believe their employees can’t do their jobs effectively without a smartphone. In fact, 75% said that mobile devices are essential to their company’s business workflows. The successful modern enterprise workforce is a mobile workforce.

However, for many enterprises, the makeup of their deployed mobile devices is anything but uniform. More than 50% of those surveyed reported that their enterprises used a hybrid approach for business-use mobile devices. Some of the enterprise mobile devices were provided by the company but the majority fell under a bring-your-own-device (BYOD) protocol.

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Tracking mobile devices

The Oxford Economics survey also revealed a noteworthy trend that enterprise managers and policymakers should take to heart: The most successful businesses adopt a mature and enlightened mixed BYOD and employer-issued device strategy. These strategies are marked by increased satisfaction with mobile devices as work tools, efficient deployment of business applications, enhanced workforce collaboration, and better mobile security.

A hybrid mobile device strategy gives these enterprises a distinct and measurable competitive advantage over their rivals. The survey clearly shows the importance of having a thoughtful, purposeful, and coordinated mobile strategy–future business success depends on it.

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However, while mobile devices offer more convenience and flexibility for the modern workforce, they also bring with them additional risks and support issues. To unleash the full potential of a mobile workforce, enterprises must establish coordinated guidelines that support the productivity of mobile devices and enable their security. It is a delicate balancing act, requiring a comprehensive mobile device policy.

TechRepublic’s premium sister site, Tech Pro Research, offers a ready-made Mobile device computing policy your company can use to develop its own set of hybrid BYOD and company-issued device guidelines. Going forward, successful modern enterprises will not be competitive without one.

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Your thoughts

Do your employees bring their devices to work? Does your company have a formal policy that governs device support and security? Share your thoughts and opinions in the discussion thread below.