The introduction of telework that allows people to work from outside the office using PCs and smartphones is also in progress. If telecommuting spreads, employees will be able to spend time commuting to work. In addition, you can flexibly work according to personal circumstances, such as being able to work while raising children and taking care of children. However, while having such merits, it is required to have the correct knowledge and awareness about security. New employees who understand the security measures that companies require from now on are no exception. In recent years, some companies have smartphones and laptops owned by individual employees used for business. Such usage form is called BYOD (Bring Your Own Device). Companies have the advantage of being able to reduce costs such as workstation purchase costs. On the other hand, there are many companies that adopt the conventional method of purchasing smartphones and laptop PCs and providing them to employees.
Whether it’s BYOD or a workstation supplied by a company, companies need security measures. If telecommuting is introduced, the company system will be accessed from outside the company via the Internet. Therefore, the risk of intrusion increases, and it is also necessary to assume that the workstation may be lost or stolen. System administrators need to introduce technical measures against those risks. The background behind the introduction of the unified standard PC by many companies is to enhance the convenience of operation management and security measures. If the devices are in line with the same standard, even if someone’s PC breaks down, you can order a replacement in a short time. In addition, unifying devices with exactly the same hardware, software, and configuration will also make troubleshooting faster.
On the other hand, for working styles that emphasize mobility and creativity, it is important to stick to the devices you carry around. Not only lightness and battery life but also stylishness and personal satisfaction will be important points. It’s like picking a writing instrument that suits you in your hand, and if you use an attached device, your work will go well. That is also the goodness of BYOD. If Windows and Office can be used with any operating system or device, the IT environment of employees can be unified as a result. Furthermore, in a virtualized environment, it is possible to control login from the outside, and since real data does not flow to the external network security is also ensured.
Also, be careful about the network bandwidth, as access to the server occurs simultaneously from multiple workstations. If a typical company has less access from outside, bandwidth expansion may be unnecessary. However, in some cases, such as in universities, several dozens of network lines are required to access dozens of workstations simultaneously. Such know-how can be judged in advance from the second time, once it experiences its construction. Also, in the stage of actually proposing as a solution, it is possible to obtain information in advance. In order to introduce BYOD, it is necessary to establish specific mechanisms and rules, such as how to understand the use situation of employees’ smart devices, how to secure security, and how to cope with troubles. However, there is no point in adopting BYOD if such ensuring of security greatly impairs the convenience of users.