More and more businesses are adopting a BYOD policy, which means that employees are allowed to use their own personal devices to conduct their professional work. It’s an idea that often makes a lot of sense, but it also has its pros and cons (you can learn about them at https://www.fortinet.com/resources/cyberglossary/byod). However, there are several problems that should make you think twice before going down the BYOD route.

Here are just four reasons why you might prefer to buy your own company computers.

1. You Aren’t Passing the Costs On

If your employees already have their own devices, a BYOD policy will be absolutely fine. However, not every employee is going to have their own computer, and it can be a little galling to be told that they need to buy one themselves in order to do work for your business, especially since devices used for business will often need to be quite high-spec.

2. Device Differences

Even if your team all own top of the line devices, they probably don’t all own the same ones. Differences between devices can really matter when you’re running a business. Transferring data between operating systems can be problematic, and it can be tough to carry out updates across different systems or install the same software across devices that may have radically different capabilities.

3. Security Issues

Perhaps the most compelling reason not to adopt a BYOD policy is that you’ll find it much harder to enforce proper security measures. When employees utilise a device both for their own private use and to carry out company work, it’s much easier for security to be compromised. After all, people don’t tend to be as vigilant when they are browsing the web in their leisure time (even when browsing dark web market guides). Additionally, most businesses prefer to have any device that has been used to access company data back in their possession if an employee ever decides to leave.

4. Work Ethic

Finally, you may find that employees are slightly less productive when you allow them to work on their own devices, and it’s hard to blame them. It’s a lot easier to procrastinate when you’re using something that you own, especially when games are already installed and social media sites are already bookmarked. To keep a clear line between business and pleasure, buy company devices instead of relying on BYOD.