It all sounds good on paper but what does it bring to the green arena that has not already been thought of, and is it just marketing or does it hold its own when scrutinised?
Let's look at what it actually means first:
In layman's terms, users get to bring their own devices (laptops or PC's), ones which they provide and are used to working on - this gives them satisfaction but can it increase workflow and productivity?
Does it decrease the demand for hardware and therefore scoring carbon brownie points for the organisation?
In today's move towards centralised computing is this decentralising it again?
And what about data security and virus risks, will it create more management overheads for the IT Support Teams or empower users to self support their own devices?
What about the impacts it has on decommissioning the user's current devices - recycling tin, deleting data from the hard drives, the WEEE directive, not to mention the time and space this all requires!
So who can benefit then?
Well mobile workers and "hot deskateers" are already in the mind set, and don't they seem to be happy bunnies?
And show me an FD who's not thinking about the bottom line and wouldn't welcome the cost savings of a skipped hardware refresh?
So, taking it at face value, who should consider a BYOPC network?
In our opinion, everything in moderation; the next time you find yourselves reviewing IT policies, give it some thought, it may suit an office, a department or even just a team but one thing is certain, any organisation that doesn't purchase hardware will save time, save money and reduce their carbon foot print.
Let's see how it all pans out!
