¶ … risks are associated with implementing a BYOD policy, and how can these risks be addressed? Consider how BYOD risks differ from those in a corporate-owned mobile strategy.
The first risk associate with a BYOD policy is the added costs associated with adding multiple phone lines to the overall platform. As the firm has over 210 associates, it will be very costly to implement a blackberry, android, and iPhone platform that accommodates all the investment personnel within the company. As such, the firm will incur the risk of increasing costs at the expense of familiarity with mobile devices. The investment personnel within the firm are using multiple applications on differing devices for their clients. Some applications are tablet-based while others exist on mobile phones. By allowing a BYOD policy, the firm will be utilizing disparate systems and operating software to engage and attract clients. This form of business may be detrimental as the format of presentations will be varied and inconsistent. As such, the firm runs the risk of being inconsistent with its overall presentation to potential and current investors. This will occur due to the multiple devices in which employees will be using.
In addition, with BYOD, the company loses its overall span of control over services. Due to the large overall scale of organizations, certain types of architecture lend themselves well to payroll applications within the context of the business. The increasingly competitive, global marketplace puts pressure on companies to create and deliver their products faster, with high quality and greater performance. To get the new products and technologies to consumers is through a new industry called Application Service Providers (ASPs). Similarly to Internet Service Providers, that linked businesses and consumers up to the Internet, ASPs lease software applications to businesses and consumers via the Internet. These applications range from word processing programs to payroll management software, document management systems, and many others. The major challenge is to develop an efficient Internet-based architecture, which will efficiently provide access to these software applications over the Internet (Kling, 2010).
2. What are the advantages and disadvantages of a corporate-owned mobile device strategy vs. A BYOD mobile strategy?
To begin, communication is a very important aspect of technology. Without it, technology would be rendered useless. Technology, when used properly helps facilitate the use of communication. Applications such as video conferencing, email, and text messaging all make communication seamless. However, through these forms of communication, it is very easy for people to misinterpret the meaning of the message. Email, is troublesome, as the message can be easily misunderstood by the recipient. This misunderstanding could lead to bad decisions on the part of individuals and organizations. However, as more individuals become familiar with technology and email, they will also use appropriate etiquette when sending emails or other forms of communication. In addition, the use of technology saves massive amounts of time and energy throughout an organization. This saved time can allow people to be more productive in their lives while also being more efficient. With cell phones, people can check an account balance, check the weather, set an alarm, or even write an email. These functions create massive amounts of productivity gains for the individual or corporation. This positively affects them because more time is spent on other aspects that are more productive.
Finally technology helps people in a positive way because it is safer and more efficient. Through technology it is easy to track certain activities. This ability allows for an ethical way to conduct business or live life. For example, bank withdrawals are all online. This allows fraudulent activity to be easily detected while preventing future theft. This helps people in a positive manner because they are less likely to be victim of activities that negatively impact them. This protection allows information to be easily viewed by people who have access to it. Any discrepancies can easily be fixed.
Technology does have a negative aspect as well. Hackers can potentially deny service to websites or slow down loading speed. Viruses and Trojan worms can ruin computers as well. This does not help people, as consumers are now forced to buy protective software or new computers altogether. In addition, people could lose vital information that hackers can use to conduct unethical activities. These occurrences are rare however. Security features can also be adjusted to reduce the possibility of attack. Antivirus software can also be purchased to help solve hacking and virus problems.
Should Fairfield allow the execution of trades using electronic devices, or continue its current policy?
Yes, Fairfield should allow the execution of trades using electronic devices. In this instance, the cost of Fairfield not using electronic devices will far outweigh many of the negatives aspects of using it. For example, undoubtedly, Fairfield's competitors are using electronic trade executions as a viable value proposition for their clients. By not offering these services, the company is putting itself at a strategic disadvantage relative to competitors in the industry. Electronic devices are provide a means of cost savings for the company that free needed capital in regards to security and integration of devices. Electronic trades, when conducted on an integrated platform are easily to track, and maintain, allowing for more oversight of employees. Security and privacy concerns are indeed an issue regarding electronic trades. However, through proper integration and oversight, the security concerns can be somewhat mitigated. The overall concept of electronic trades however will have a very profound impact on Fairfield. It allows consumers to initiate trades in a more timely and efficient manner. Electronic trades also reduce errors that occur through manual trade execution. Electronic trades, also provide security and oversight of transactions that can be easily tracked and received. As such, I believe Fairfield should allow the execution of trades using electronic devices, provided that the overall system in integrated, secure and has proper oversight (Hahn, 2007).
4. How can a company handle the payment and administration of employee expenses related to mobile devices?
Payment and administration expense could be handled in a litany of ways. In regards to overall payment, employees could be allotted a monthly amount of cash in regards to expenses and payments. One consideration is that if the company purchases the smartphone, it owns the phone number assigned to that device. If the employee leaves the company, that phone number can be given to another employee. If the employee owns the phone and leaves the company, customers and other business contacts that had that phone number will no longer be able to use it to get in touch with the company. This amount will be credited to an individual employees account. Software is available for several phone platforms that can be installed on a cell phone to allow you to listen to and/or record conversations and remotely read call logs, email messages, and SMS messages.
Another option is to have the employee pay for the phone and corresponding plan. Unlike corporate-liable devices, the employee purchases and owns the device. If the employee wishes to use their personal device for work-related activities, IT must have a policy that outlines what, if any, portion of the monthly fees that the firm will pay. The greater the business need for mobile voice and data, the more likely the firm is to pay at least part of the monthly fees. A fixed stipend approach is often considered for reimbursement. The move to flat rate voice and data plans has made it easier to set stipend limits. Many companies choose a stipend amount that pays for the data portion of the bill. When determining a stipend, BYOD must adjust the amounts to equal the variances in data rates across the globe. If the employee has no need to access corporate data, the firm may choose to provide access to the network without any reimbursement. Policies should minimize the amount of time accounting must spend to process reimbursements by setting fixed dollar amounts or tiers of reimbursement expenses (Donner, 2008).
5. How can a company protect its data if it allows access through mobile devices?
The attack was a distributed denial of service attack (DDOS). This attack attempts to overload a websites server in an attempt to disrupt overall service to the website. The hackers used a coordinated attack in response to action taking by the Department of Justice against the website Mega upload. The site, which at the time had over 50 million users, was taken off line by the department of justice. As a result, the hacker group named Anonymous struck the DOJ website using a DDOS technique. The method of attack involves saturating the target machine with external communications requests. In this instance, the group used DDOS messages to halt and overload popular servers. Through the use of DDOS messages the victim website will be unable to respond to legitimate traffic or responds so slowly as to be rendering the website essentially unavailable. Such attacks often lead to server overload which results in a further denial of service. Anonymous implemented the DDoS attacks by forcing targeted computers to reset. It…
