BYOD: Where are the Hidden Costs for Enterprises?

Cost savings are often seen as one of the main reasons for switching over to a bring your own device (BYOD) model, but BYOD has its own hidden costs.

“While the reasoning behind that theory is understandable, it could be based on false assumptions and, perhaps, some wishful thinking,” BlackBerry (BBRY) Enterprise Content Strategist Joe McGarvey said in a company blog post.

In summary: The true cost of BYOD for a business typically depends on the nature of the company’s BYOD policy, he noted.

What exactly are the hidden costs of BYOD? According to McGarvey, many businesses are unaware of the following costs:

• Monthly voice and data.
• Management complexity.
• Security lapses.
• Legal expenses.

He said even though BYOD can be seen as a driver of productivity, it will continue to pose security and management risks between business leaders, IT and end users.

“As advances in enterprise mobility increasingly strip away the protective barriers between mobile devices and behind-the-firewall information, CIOs and other IT decision makers will need to factor the costs associated with potential security breaches, compliance violations or legal penalties into any BYOD cost analysis,” McGarvey said.

Follow CJ Arlotta on Twitter @cjarlotta and Google+ for further updates on the story above.