Providing the Freedom Employees Need, Without Compromises

BYOD continues to get headlines, as organizations look for ways to help users work the way they want, when and where they want-with the device they choose. Ultimately, mobility is more than BYOD. At Cisco, we believe work is a verb, not a place you go to -we provide the flexibility for our employees to work remote.

Sheila Jordan (@CiscoSheila), Cisco's Senior Vice President of IT Collaboration, pointed out in this piece in Computerworld that cost savings are important, but the real benefits are "fostering collaboration, building employee morale, and creating an environment that is attractive to millennials."

A few other articles address how BYOD is just the latest example of how mobility is changing the way people work, play and live. Collaborating and communicating should be rich interactions not bound by a physical place -benefiting the user and the business. And,  embracing this new mobility mindset translates to thinking ahead and beyond merely connecting devices to include security policies, collaboration tools and a network provider and foundation that can adapt and scale.

To think that this is all happening as we look back on the fortieth anniversary of the first cell phone call is fascinating.  What do you think? We'd love to hear how mobility and BYOD are affecting your workplace and here are a few questions to think about:

• How many times a day/week do you use your own mobile device for work -to read company email, perform company-related tasks?
• Would you rather spend your own money to use the mobile device of choice, or use your company mobile device?
• How much are you willing to spend in a data plan to avoid using a company-owned device?