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.
Decreasing the effects of contract related risks can be accomplished, whether your company is 100 percent BYOD or a mix of both. The key is planning ahead so you can take advantage the savings and benefits, and avoid the unwanted costs. You also need to understand your contracts and how BYOD will affect them. Remember these three things when considering a new BYOD to reduce your risks:
1. You can still get 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
Making the move from corporate owned devices to BYOD leaves organizations open to a higher level of security risks because personal devices are much more vulnerable. To make sure company information is safe, detailed security and and governance policies must be put onto place. The costs for these solutions are high, but extremely crucial. Understanding and anticipating how security impacts your bottom line is key to managing them effectively.
Decreasing the effects of contract related risks can be accomplished, whether your company is 100 percent BYOD or a mix of both. The key is planning ahead so you can take advantage the savings and benefits, and avoid the unwanted costs. You also need to understand your contracts and how BYOD will affect them. Remember these three things when considering a new BYOD to reduce your risks:
1. You can still get 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
Making the move from corporate owned devices to BYOD leaves organizations open to a higher level of security risks because personal devices are much more vulnerable. To make sure company information is safe, detailed security and and governance policies must be put onto place. The costs for these solutions are high, but extremely crucial. Understanding and anticipating how security impacts your bottom line is key to managing them effectively.
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 reduction service