There is no question that BYOD (bring your own device) has many benefits for businesses, especially if this is the only policy in place. Unfortunately, most organizations still provide company owned devices in addition to allowing individually owned devices. This mix of device ownership opens up the door for some big cost risks when you consider how BYOD will affect carrier contracts.
It is possible to take advantage of all the cost benefits of BYOD, even if your business takes a hybrid approach to employee devices. You just need to have a good understanding of your carrier agreement and how BYOD cost savings might be negatively impacted by this approach. Consider the following to help avoid these cost risks:
1. Don't give up your volume discounts
Most carriers will allow individual responsible users (IRUs) to sign up on your corporate rate plan and count towards the number of plan users. Simply tell any employees that use their own devices to use a corporate referral code when signing up for service. If you can get enough people to do this, the discounts could even exceed your current ones.
2. Plan ahead to reduce the negative impact of fees
As with any change, switching mass amounts of corporate responsible users (CRUs) to IRUs is a difficult task that involves cost risks. To make it even harder, most carriers will hit you with early termination fees they use to keep clients from changing carriers or canceling service. Be aware of the fees and know how they will impact your cost savings so you can off-set them in other ways.
3. You can save on security costs
Unfortunately, individually owned devices require more security measures and governance to keep company information safe and monitor usage effectively. The costs associated with implementing these measures are often high, but also necessary. Be prepared to manage the additional costs by having a plan in place before you begin BYOD implementation.
It is possible to take advantage of all the cost benefits of BYOD, even if your business takes a hybrid approach to employee devices. You just need to have a good understanding of your carrier agreement and how BYOD cost savings might be negatively impacted by this approach. Consider the following to help avoid these cost risks:
1. Don't give up your volume discounts
Most carriers will allow individual responsible users (IRUs) to sign up on your corporate rate plan and count towards the number of plan users. Simply tell any employees that use their own devices to use a corporate referral code when signing up for service. If you can get enough people to do this, the discounts could even exceed your current ones.
2. Plan ahead to reduce the negative impact of fees
As with any change, switching mass amounts of corporate responsible users (CRUs) to IRUs is a difficult task that involves cost risks. To make it even harder, most carriers will hit you with early termination fees they use to keep clients from changing carriers or canceling service. Be aware of the fees and know how they will impact your cost savings so you can off-set them in other ways.
3. You can save on security costs
Unfortunately, individually owned devices require more security measures and governance to keep company information safe and monitor usage effectively. The costs associated with implementing these measures are often high, but also necessary. Be prepared to manage the additional costs by having a plan in place before you begin BYOD implementation.
About the Author:
Joseph B. Kappernick specializes in helping Fortune 500 companies save money. He recommends that you visit NPI Financial to learn more about telecom cost management service
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