Enhance Your Business With BYOD and Mobile VoIP

The ways in which we communicate and work is changing as technology changes. BYOD otherwise known as Bring Your Own Device is an increasingly popular trend that reflects these changes.

What is BYOD?

BYOD is short for Bring Your Own Device and offers workforces the opportunity of using their own personal devices to assist with their jobs within the workplace.

The term BYOD goes hand in hand with Bring Your Own Technology (BYOT), Bring Your Own PC (BYOPC) and Bring Your Own Phone (BYOP) practices.

Devices can include smartphones and laptops, or even personal computers and USB drives. Typically though, BYOD will refer to smartphones as they are the most popular.

Time to Embrace the Rise of Mobile Working?

It will come as no surprise that working from home peaked during the pandemic, and currently at least 44% of adults have chosen to adopt a hybrid mix of home and office working, according to figures from the Office of National Statistics. These figures have risen in contrast to 2019, when only around 12% of working adults chose to engage in some form of home working.

As hybrid working has seen growth, so too has mobile phone ownership. As of 2023, over 4.3 billion people worldwide, around 54% of the population, are estimated to own a smartphone, and in the UK alone, it is estimated that around 93% of households own a mobile phone.

Both the increased adoption of mobile devices, coupled with the increased popularity of remote and hybrid working, indicates that it certainly makes sense for businesses to start giving BYOD a try.

Productivity Benefits of BYOD

Employees have embraced remote and hybrid working in part due to savings on commuting costs and also due to the time and effort saved not commuting.

Without the hurdles of the daily commute, staff can be more rested which in turn can result in productivity benefits. In some instances, team members are even opting to spend a little extra time working, which may have otherwise been spent travelling.

It’s not only reduced commuting times that can help lead to productivity improvements. Technology plays a valid part too. For example, according to research conducted by Google, as much as 75% of people have said that their smartphones actually help them to be more productive. 

Giving employees the choice to work on the devices that they feel most comfortable with, wherever they feel most comfortable, will generally result in staff who are more contented and rested.

Happier employees are typically more productive too. So rather than foisting more and more technology onto your staff, consider letting them use their own familiar smartphone devices.

Mobile VoIP and BYOD Enhances Flexibility

Establishing Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) policies within your organisation can help bring greater flexibility to your workplace, and combining smartphones with a mobile VoIP service will ensure that your business phone lines can be taken with you on your favourite device, wherever you go.

For those moments when an innovative idea hits you, a mobile VoIP phone system on a smartphone will make it easy to swiftly communicate with your team, within the moment, when inspiration strikes.

So, if you’re working from your home office, travelling, or on the way to your next meeting, you can ensure that your business never again misses out on those important opportunities.

Introduce Cost Savings With BYOD

Giving employees the choice of either using their own existing smartphones or laptops or in-office hardware, lets you decide how much hardware you actually need for your office. Do you need a dedicated desk phone for every employee? Some of these phones could even be used as hot desk phones for hybrid workers, as and when they're needed.  

Reducing the need to purchase new specialist hardware phones for every office desk will not only lower hardware costs, but will additionally greatly cut down on maintenance costs.

Make Your Business More Attractive With BYOD

With the 9-5 working day evolving to more adaptable hours as workforces change and become more global, the option to offer employees the chance to use different devices and schedule work according to their lifestyles can help your organisation appear more attractive.

Your hiring teams will be able to focus on acquiring the best talent for your business, no matter where they are based, safe in the knowledge that they will seamlessly be able to communicate and collaborate with your existing team. Plus without the learning curve associated with new devices, new starters will be able hit the ground running straight away.

That organisations support the type of tech that potential employees are used to can also be a deciding factor when choosing an employer. So make sure your business is in the best position by choosing a VoIP solution that supports the latest iOS and Android phones.

Things To Consider With a BYOD Policy

Although this may fly in the face of the freedom that BYOD brings, when creating a BYOD policy for your company, it can be helpful to bear the following points in mind.

• Remember to audit and review which devices are permitted to connect within your networks.
• Confirm phone number ownership. If these are registered to an account with your phone system provider, ensure that this is in the company name.
• If your company has agreed to pay all or part of an employee’s device bill, make sure any and all agreements are in place from the start.
• Regularly review and reassess what’s working well with the BYOD, and what could be improved.

Make the Move To Mobile VoIP

Advances in smartphones and mobile VoIP have greatly opened up the possibilities for productivity and collaboration within the startup, SME, and enterprise workspaces.

In fact as early as 2009, the technology corporation Intel recognised the tendency amongst employees to bring their own devices into the office and connect them to their business network. Within 3 years, 19,000 out of 100,000 Intel employees were participating in the company’s BYOD program, with 58% of the mobile devices used at the company belonging to employees.

But no matter the size of your business, or which devices your business and staff choose to use, it's essential to make sure your teams and policies are ably supported by a mobile VoIP solution that you can rely on. If in doubt as to what to look for in a VoIP provider, take a peek at our guide to migrating to VoIP.

The Yay.com calling app makes communication and collaboration accessible to your teams and can be downloaded and set up on a smartphone in minutes. Rigorous testing means that you always receive the best clarity when on a call. Try out our phone system free for 14 days and discover how your business can start enjoying the benefits of BYOD and mobile VoIP in no time.