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    Creating a Bring Your Own Technology (BYOT) Program

    Nearly three-quarters of the 141 information workers (iWorkers) responding to a recent Unisys Corporation (NYSE: UIS) online poll indicated that they would be willing to pay at least part of the cost for productivity-enhancing technology for work if they could choose it themselves.

    The respondents were answering the question, "What percentage of the cost of your job’s IT tools would you be willing to fund if you had freedom to choose what you could use?"

    Nearly one-third (32 percent) of the iWorkers said that they would be willing to pick up the full cost. Twenty-one percent said that they would pay up to half of the cost, and another 21 percent said that they would fund up to 30 percent of the cost.

    “By clinging to old ways in today’s hyper-competitive marketplace, employers could miss a golden opportunity to mobilize and unleash the innovation of an army of tech-savvy employees who want to use the technologies they rely on in their personal lives for work,” said Sam Gross, vice president, Global IT Outsourcing Solutions, Unisys.

    But how do companies make the transition to a Bring Your Own Technology (BYOT) structure? This slideshow highlights 12 steps identified by Unisys that businesses should follow when creating a BYOT program.

    Creating a Bring Your Own Technology (BYOT) Program - slide 1

    Click through for 12 steps to creating your own BYOT program, as identified by Unisys.

    Creating a Bring Your Own Technology (BYOT) Program - slide 2

    Survey employees to see if there is sufficient interest in a BYOT program.

    Creating a Bring Your Own Technology (BYOT) Program - slide 3

    If interest is sufficient, start developing a program that enables employees to opt in or out.

    Creating a Bring Your Own Technology (BYOT) Program - slide 4

    Compile criteria to assess an employee’s suitability to participate in the program, depending on role, work needs and IT skills. Employees who are involved in mission-critical work or have access to highly sensitive data need to be assessed closely.

    Creating a Bring Your Own Technology (BYOT) Program - slide 5

    Identify the consumer technologies employees are already bringing into the workplace. This will help identify which devices and applications employees are likely to purchase if given free choice, or which ones the organization might offer from a select range.

    Creating a Bring Your Own Technology (BYOT) Program - slide 6

    Put appropriate support provisions in place. You can save money from reduced service desk demand if employees in the BYOT program are responsible for supporting their own technology. However, they must have access to support from other sources, such as directly from the hardware and software providers. Ensure that employees put these arrangements in place at the time of purchase.

    Creating a Bring Your Own Technology (BYOT) Program - slide 7

    Create a one-stop Web portal to provide procurement, support and training. The portal should include a white list of recommended systems and applications, equipment standards that must be met to qualify for the program, subscription services and suppliers, a mash-up of support options (e.g. information from hardware and application vendors’ help sites ), self-help support information and tools, and FAQs and links to assistance.

    Creating a Bring Your Own Technology (BYOT) Program - slide 8

    Implement an e-commerce system to allow employees to pay for devices, support services and personal insurance.

    Creating a Bring Your Own Technology (BYOT) Program - slide 9

    Institute comprehensive, transparent IT and HR policies to manage the programs so employees – especially tech-savvy ones – are more likely to comply. To start, policies should focus on criteria for employee participation in the program, financial information outlining what costs the organization will cover, including insurance and tax details, and minimum device and application standards.

    Creating a Bring Your Own Technology (BYOT) Program - slide 10

    Post the policies widely – especially in the support and training portal – and make them part of a comprehensive employee education program.

    Creating a Bring Your Own Technology (BYOT) Program - slide 11

    Reflect the policies in employment contracts and agreements used to determine the rights and responsibilities of employees in the BYOT program.

    Creating a Bring Your Own Technology (BYOT) Program - slide 12

    Run a pilot program with a small group of IT-skilled employees before rolling out a BYOT program across the organization.

    Creating a Bring Your Own Technology (BYOT) Program - slide 13

    Ease employees into the program, allowing them to access service desk assistance while troubleshooting for early issues takes place.

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