Carrying the Can: How ‘Use Your Own Phone’ Can Cost a Fortune

Monday 20th June 2011

The latest White Paper released by IT analysts Quocirca raises the issue of the increasing trend of employees bringing their own mobile devices to work…READ MORE

The latest White Paper released by IT analysts Quocirca raises the issue of the increasing trend of employees bringing their own mobile devices to work. With 78% of large organisations now considering a ‘Bring Your Own Device Policy’, employers need to be made aware of the hidden costs and security risks of this scheme before they adopt this change.

Carrying the Can: How ‘Use Your Own Phone’ Can Cost a Fortune

New research from ttMobiles reveals 78% of large organisations are considering a 'Bring Your Own Device' policy. With the explosion of the iPhone and other smart devices, many cost-conscious organisations have thought “why not just let employees bring their own phones to work?” And many techno-loving employees would be very happy to use their latest gadgets in the work place. However, far from it being a cost saving exercise, this approach can lead to financial losses and heightened security risks.

This is covered in the latest White Paper from industry analysts Quocirca which explores the issues and costs arising from this seemingly beneficial policy: ttMobiles has predicted that an organisation with a 'Bring Your Own Device' policy and 2,000 phones will suffer increased spending of £156,000 per year, up 27% on the usual 'Company Phone' policy.

Peter Readman, a director at ttMobiles, said “Our customers average 50% smart phones and 50% traditional ‘dumb phones’. If all of the dumb phones suddenly become personal smart phones overnight, the finance department has to deal with an incredible amount of extra data costs, whilst the security of that data is in jeopardy. There may be initial savings on handsets, but for organisations with a majority of voice-only users, there is no benefit, and companies of any size need to be wary of considering this as a policy.”  

The critical issue is who pays for the airtime? If employees use their own airtime package, this leads to increased costs because individual consumer contracts are far worse value than a bulk, corporate deal. This is especially true for international calling and data, which can be four times more expensive for personal rather than corporate users. 

Another factor is the cost of colleagues calling one another. This typically doubles, because in a corporate account all users are on the same network, with a preferential ‘on-net’ call plan. Allowing users to move to whatever network they like means most calls to colleagues will be to a different network, at much higher charges. 

The other major issue is reduced security. Smartphones are end points on the corporate network. Loading a security application on the phones looks straightforward, but it’s expensive in comparison to a voice-only phone.

Finally, having employees reclaim business use through the expenses system has an impact on the finance system, far in excess of the saving made on handset costs. It also makes meaningful analysis of call costs impossible and the expenditure unaccountable.

ttMobiles works with a number of high profile organisations to assist in implementing mobile policies that clearly define boundaries for both employer and employees. ttMobiles Wireless Expense Manager is an interactive, web-based service that enables organisations to view and manage mobile spend. End users can verify their bills online, make personal call and data declarations and have deductions made directly from their salary, eliminating paperwork. For ease of use bills use names, rather than numbers, wherever possible.

ttMobiles was founded in 2001, and thanks to its highly experienced and innovative team has firmly established itself as the UK’s number one provider of independent, outsourced mobile communications management. It counts international banks, retailers, software giants and the public sector as its customers.

Quocirca is a primary research and analysis company specialising in the business impact of information technology and communications (ITC). With world-wide, native language reach, Quocirca provides in-depth insights into the views of buyers and influencers in large, mid-sized and small organisations. Its analyst team is made up of real-world practitioners with firsthand experience of ITC delivery who continuously research and track the industry and its real usage in the market.

For more information about Quocirca please visit www.quocirca.com