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Apple’s (News - Alert) iPhone sales recently hit their highest mark, and many of these devices are pushing their way into the workplace in a surprising new way – as personal phones that double for business devices. But rather than fight the BYO (bring your own) phone movement, embrace it. 

 

Companies today should be leveraging the smartphone craze by adopting a BYO (“individual-liable” in stodgy speak) strategy in which Mobile UC transforms any employee-owned iPhone, Blackberry, or Android (News - Alert) into a mobilized deskphone. I’m not talking about letting employees straight up use their personal phones for work with no oversight. I mean letting employees use their personal smartphones to access secure Mobile UC software via a Web client that actually resides on an IT-controlled server.

 

With DiVitas (News - Alert), organizations get the cost savings benefits dual-purposing employee personal phones, but under the security of a Web client and an IT-controlled server. Ultimately organizations get a workforce that is affordably mobilized and easily reachable thanks to enterprise social networking capabilities.

 

For organizations deploying the DiVitas Mobile UC Web client:

 

Personal devices become a mobilized business deskphone – the smartphone carries the business number, eliminating the confusion caused when colleagues are reachable by two numbers  - deskphone and cellular.
 

As a Web client, there is nothing for end-users to download, upgrade or delete (the DiVitas app is accessed strictly via the iPhone’s (News - Alert), Blackberry’s, or Android’s Web browser.

There is no additional burden on the device or IT staff because as the application resides on the DiVitas Server – and is accessible through the iPhone, Blackberry or Android Web browser. The Web client can also be accessed by a desktop browser.
 

Companies can still choose to subsidize individual cellular costs, but they eliminate hardware overhead  such as additional device-purchase costs in mobilizing the entire workforce, including traditionally un-mobilized corridor warriors.
 

Even though devices are personally owned, they are as secure as deskphones and corporate-purchased phones because the Mobile UC server is web-based and under IT control – should a phone become lost or stolen, or should an individual change employers, IT staff simply updates the server to disallow server access by that client.
 

Individuals have access to smartphone-friendly Enterprise Social Networking capabilities (Mobile Presence and Status) to make them aware of one another's ability to be reached. The ability to scroll through an interface-based directory to see who is available and where they are located is a powerful tool for ensuring colleagues connect on the first try.

A BYO strategy simply takes advantage of a major mobile-communications trend already underway in which enterprises are embracing BYO devices.

 

The bottom line: A Mobile UC-enabled BYO strategy means that the as-yet un-mobilized workforce, such as corridor warriors can easily use their personal smartphones to double as a mobile work phone. And this enterprise mobility magic happens with little-to-no overhead because companies no longer need to purchase a phone for every mobile worker since they are using their own devices. Also, There is no additional burden on the IT department to support individual devices as everything is managed as software at the server level, or load and support software on the mobile phone.

A BYO phone strategy will also make your employees happy – and hence more productive – because they are using their favorite phone by day at work and by night  for pleasure rather than juggle two devices. A BYO strategy is a win-win for companies and their employees.