One tech trend that is living up to expectations in terms of generating discussion is how workplaces should address the convergence of personal and professional technologies. One of the core discussions that agencies are having is about how to manage BYOD – is it something that is employee-led, which is typically the model in the private sector, or should it be mandated from within, with the agency supplying the devices? In the first case, IT can simply shut down access for unauthorized devices, but when you want workers to either use their personal devices at work, or provide them with a device from which they can access both work and personal data, there are myriad legal and privacy considerations to be navigated.
The private sector has led the way in instituting BYOD initiatives and, having seen their successes, government agencies are following suit. But given differences in security concerns and legal requirements, what’s the path ahead for government BYOD programs?
At a recent Cloud & Virtualization Conference event in Washington, D.C., a panel of experts spoke on the emerging BYOD trend in the private and public sectors, along with legal matters to address and how companies and agencies are able to overcome them.
Panel experts included:
- Brad Nix, Chief Information Security Officer at the United States Department of Agriculture, spoke on the Digital Government Strategy and the BYOD Toolkit
- Rob Burton, partner at Venable LLP, addressed the legal aspects of BYOD
- Chris O’Connell, vice president of federal sales at Appian Corporation, spoke about the positive movement of BYOD and how companies and agencies are responding
Click here for a short video from the conference session which features Rob Burton discussing the legal and privacy ramifications of BYOD, along with strategies companies and agencies currently use to offset some of these considerations.
