BYOD means bring your own dog, right?

Bring your dog to work, your child to work, and your growth mindset to work - but do you bring your own device to work? It was just a meeting last week that I saw someone with two cell phones, two laptops, and even a pager. I said, "Is all that for work?" It turns out it was; they worked for a city and had all this equipment. When I took over managing IT at a moderately small company (under 150 people), one of the first things I did was ditch the desk phone. It took everyone a minute to wrap their brain around it, but with the booming use of cell phones and everyone's ability to strategically place it on their person at all times, why would you need to ring a desk phone? Then with the opportunity for VOIP, why would you even need a desk, right? In today's corporate setup, companies are moving towards the streamlined and ditching the continual updates of equipment by allowing people to use their own. Information can be compartmentalized through various apps and security features on phones, laptops, and even with the whole idea of a virtual desktop. I set up users with a VOIP that rings their phones through Microsoft TEAMS and even rings their laptops simultaneously. Does it matter to me if you have a Mac, Dell, or Acer? It does not. Allowing people to work with what they are most comfortable with has been a huge win. Outfitting your office with universal docking stations allows anyone with any device to connect. Security can be fine-tuned, so if you're looking for that work-from-anywhere employee, you can set it up for them. All while not having access to their cat pictures! Today employees want flexibility. Where they work, when they work, and how they work. Allowing them to work on their own devices is a huge win. You can throw in a technology stipend/reimbursement as well, which is the icing on the cake - all while reducing your hardware budget!