BYOD Archives - Schooley Mitchell

BYOD on the Decline?

Tori Sutton November 2, 2015

For the last few years people have been pumping up Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) programs as the best solution for employees and businesses alike. However, those same people weren’t always quick to acknowledge the well-documented issues often surrounding it. It appears the tide may be turning. The results of a 2015 CompTIA Information Technology Association survey of American IT professionals show over half work at companies that have banned BYOD. In total, 53 percent of the 375 respondents said their company does not allow the use of personal devices in the workplace, a significant increase from 34 percent just

BYOD, at what cost?

Tori Sutton May 29, 2013

Schooley Mitchell has seen the negative effects of a poorly planned and executed Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) scenarios first hand, but this column by Brian Katz illustrates the financial hit that companies take when they rush into a new device arrangement without examining both sides of the coin. Katz says a big disadvantage some companies fail to consider is the loss of the ability to pool data and minutes through a share plan, often leaving them on the hook to reimburse employees for overages they would not face under corporate liability. Discounts on other high-cost activities, such as international

BlackBerry Enterprise Service to support BYOD environment

Tori Sutton January 23, 2013

Research in Motion is clamoring to get back its slice of the corporate market, announcing today that its enterprise service will now support iOS and Android devices. The move will allow former BlackBerry workplaces to embrace a Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) environment. Enterprise Service 10 – which offers mobile device and application management, secure connectivity and the ability to separate work and personal data and apps – is now available for download on a 60-day free trial. Details about its long-term pricing structure have not been released. “BlackBerry Enterprise Service 10 empowers employees to be more productive and better

BYOD heads to court

Tori Sutton January 7, 2013

Two of the most risky factors to consider in a Bring Your Own Device environment are privacy and ownership. The employee owns the mobile device and the contents within – after all, they purchased the phone and their name is on the carrier contract. This has been a major area of concern for many businesses since the start of the BYOD trend. What happens to a phone and its contents if an employee is terminated or quits? The phone number goes with them, which is an obvious issue: Just one missed call from a client could cost the company a

Google blames Asia for outage

Tori Sutton May 17, 2009

Google has blamed Asia for its hour-long outage on Thursday. Lest our friends in the East let out a howl of protest over what could be perceived as a racial slur, Google offers a plausible explanation. A system error in Google rerouted its traffic to Asia, causing a traffic jam that left scores of users around the world mighty annoyed. Tons of emails were left unsent and all other Google products—Google News, Google Search, Google Maps, Google Analytics, Google Reader, and YouTube—were inacessible. Some users reported that they could not even access the google.com home page. The outage, which started

Clearwire, Apple Face Lawsuits

Tori Sutton April 28, 2009

Disgruntled consumers have slapped WiMAX operator Clearwire with a class action lawsuit for allegedly touting that its service is comparable to cable Internet and DSL when it fact it’s crappy. Documented as “Minnick et al. v. Clearwire U.S. LLC” and filed in King County, Washington, the lawsuit claims Clearwire’s service is slow and often unavailable. It also accuses the company of imposing unlawful early termination fees. In another development, Apple is likewise facing a lawsuit, this time from an operator of a public wiki site, for allegedly hiding under the cloak of the U.S. copyright law to impede discussions of

Nokia, Sony Ericsson Reel from Economic Slowdown

Tori Sutton April 18, 2009

Handset makers are reeling from the blow of economic slowdown. Both Nokia and Sony report losses during the first quarter but remain optimistic that the worst will soon be over. The world’s largest cell phone maker, Nokia, reports a 90 percent drop in profits for the first quarter, while Sony Ericsson says it lost $387 in revenues from January to March this year. “As expected, the first quarter of this year has been extremely challenging for Sony Ericsson due to continued weak global demand. We are aligning our business to the new market reality with the aim of bringing the

Al Gore Underscores Wireless Role in Fight VS. Global Warming

Tori Sutton April 10, 2009

Former US vice president and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Al Gore lauded the initiatives of the wireless industry to help reduce the adverse effects of global warming, but said the industry still needs to strengthen initiatives and pursue higher goals for the environment than just mere profits. The environmental activist was the final keynote speaker during the annual CTIA Wireless held last week. According to the CTIA website, the four-day event gathered some 34,000 key players of the wireless industry from 169 countries to launch and explore innovations in the field. Gore said much of the future will depend on

Anti-Wireless Spam Bill Introduced at Senate

Tori Sutton April 4, 2009

U.S. Senators Olympia J. Snowe (R-Maine) and Bill Nelson (D-FL) have joined forces to solve the worsening problem of wireless spam. The two have introduced a bill to solve the growing number of unsolicited text messages which have caused headaches to millions of cell phone users. Dubbed the m-SPAM Act, the legislation improves existing anti-spam laws and boosts the powers granted to the Federal Communications Commission and Federal Trade Commission to crack down on unwanted SMS. Most importantly, the legislation gives consumers protection by making it such a no-no to send commercial text messages to wireless numbers listed on the

Recession Driving Back Consumers to Dial-Up

Tori Sutton March 29, 2009

Broadband may have taken internet access to the next level, but during a recession, many consumers are finding it hard to justify the need to pay more money for faster Internet speed. According to Ethan Horowitz of the Chicago Tribune.com, the down economy is making people ditch cable Internet and go back to slow but inexpensive dial-up connection. While no exact figures are available yet, Horowitz said signs point to dial-up as becoming the preferred choice (again) for cost-conscious consumers. United Online, which owns dial-up providers NetZero and Juno, for instance, reported that in the fourth quarter of 2008, an