BYOD: Love or hate it, it's here to stay

The demand for bring-your-own-device (BYOD) and the consumerization of enterprise mobility has reached a crescendo within many organizations. Employees are winning the battle when it comes to the technology they use, and companies are dealing with the trend in one of two ways, according to Network World.

IT and business managers can either fight BYOD or embrace it, but the fact remains that it's here to stay. Network World highlights both scenarios in a report on BYOD, and it's clear which is more effective.

Arrow Container, a steel storage containers provider, has taken the stance of embracing BYOD, the news provider says. Its employees were already bringing their own tablet computers and smartphones to work, so the IT department felt it only natural to begin lending support.

"They all have them," systems administrator Jason Charnov tells the news provider. "It's an infrastructure that's already there."

The results have been positive, Charnov says, especially among manufacturing machine operators who feel "they're now part of the conversation."

When managed appropriately, experts agree that BYOD programs can present an organization with numerous benefits -- not the least of which is cost efficiency. By using personally owned tablets and smartphones, employees free their companies from incurring the costs of purchasing and deploying the devices.