by Timothy C. Colwell, Senior Vice President of Global Information Management, AOTMP

Every day for the past year I have been asked the same question by enterprises and suppliers alike – what’s happening with BYOD?  It is one of the hottest topics in mobile telecom management and has staying power.  A year from now, we will still be discussing it.

Mobile telecom professionals want to know if enterprises are having success with BYOD.  Often cost reduction is the main consideration for success.  While cost reduction is a popular objective, cost is more frequently shifted to another budget line item than eliminated.  While overall monthly mobile plan cost may be reduced when moving users from corporate plans to BYOD status, 57% of enterprises still reimburse BYOD users for business use expenses.  According to a recent AOTMP study, BYOD user reimbursements range from $50/month for a fixed stipend to $68/month for actual usage, depending on the method of reimbursement used.  Compare these amounts to what your company would have paid for the same user on a corporate plan before counting the cost-savings dollars.

According to the same AOTMP study, only 10% of enterprises in North America have adopted a wireless mobility strategy that is primarily BYOD, while 72% have a corporate liable/managed strategy; 18% indicate a 50/50 split between corporate liable and BYOD users.  Based on these findings, BYOD is certainly gaining ground; however, the overall number of wireless devices used for business communications in North America are still procured, paid for and managed by enterprises.

Contact the author at tcolwell@aotmp.com.