BYOD, CYOD, and COPE Mobility Strategies

BYOD, CYOD, and COPE

Assessment item 2

Question 2 (10 marks) – Mobility Strategy

Compare and contrast BYOD, CYOD and COPE as a mobility strategy for an organisation. What strategy would you chose for an organisation with a travelling sales force of 150 people working across three (3) different time zones? Based on your recommendation, identify the issues that an organisation should address when developing “Acceptable Use” policy.

Present your answer in a business report format that could be presented to the senior leadership team of an organisation.
 

APA referencing must be used, where relevant, with citations and a list of references for any sources referred to in this assessment.

Rationale

This assessment task is designed to enable you to demonstrate your ability to:

• understand and apply foundation principles relating to computerised information systems in contemporary organisations;
• analyse organisational processes for risk, and design appropriate control mechanism to mitigate identified risk;
• evaluate accounting information systems architecture and generate models of business events;
• identify organisational risks and generate systems that control that risk;
• analyse, synthesize and apply the concepts underpinning a systems planning development and implementation.

Marking criteria

Criteria:	HD	DI	CR	PS
Enter data into a computerised accounting information system and generate nominated reports.	Accurate data entry. Correct setup and accounting classifications. Appropriate coding and naming applied to all new accounts and items. Follows all specifications.	Accurate data entry. Correct setup and accounting classifications. Appropriate coding and naming applied to all new accounts and items.	Mostly accurate data entry.  Mostly correct setup and accounting classifications. Appropriate coding and naming applied to a majority of new accounts and items.	Mostly accurate data entry. Incorrect setup and accounting classifications. Appropriate coding and naming applied to a majority of new accounts and items.
Analyse and evaluate organisational profitability and provide appropriate recommendations.	Relevant and detailed analysis of the profitability of the business, by business segment, using accounting ratios where applicable.  Identification of 5 key recommendations and provision of explicit actions to improve profitability. Clarity and coherence of written expression in correct report format.	Appropriate analysis of the profitability of the business, by business segment, using accounting ratios where applicable.  Identification of 5 key recommendations and specific actions to improve profitability. Clarity and coherence of written expression in correct report format.	Some appropriate analysis of the profitability of the business, using accounting ratios where applicable  Identification of  5 relevant recommendations and appropriate actions to improve profitability. Correct report format used.	Some analysis of business profitability, using accounting ratios where applicable.  Identification of 3-4 relevant recommendations to improve profitability. Incomplete report format used.
Analyse, synthesise and apply the concepts underpinning systems planning development and implementation.	Appropriate identification of 5 critical systems development issues and relevant recommendations to overcome these issues.	Appropriate identification of 5 key systems development issues and relevant recommendations to overcome these issues.	Appropriate identification of 5 systems development issues and relevant recommendations to overcome these issues	Appropriate identification of 3- 4 systems development issues and relevant recommendations to overcome these issues.
Compare and contrast mobility strategies, outline advantages, risks and concerns facing organisations from the use of recommended strategy.	Thorough explanation and discussion of mobility strategies, users, types and connection methods  Comprehensive identification and evaluation of advantages, risks and concerns, relevant to an ‘acceptable use’ policy.	Discussion of mobility strategies, users, types and connection methods.  Identification and evaluation of advantages, risks and concerns relevant to an ‘acceptable use’ policy.	Some discussion of mobility strategies, users, types and connection methods.  Basic identification and evaluation of advantages, risks and concerns relevant to an ‘acceptable use’ policy.	Basic identification of mobility strategies, users, types and connection methods.  Basic identification of advantages, risks and concerns relevant to an ‘acceptable use’ policy.

Assessment item 2 – Additional Guidance

Question 2 (10 marks) – Mobility Strategy

The best approach to this question is to break it down into the following parts and remember you are answering the question from the organisation’s perspective (not the user):

1. Compare and contrast BYOD, CYOD and COPE as a mobility strategy for an organisation. You must define each of the strategies as well as identify the potential advantages and any risks and concerns that the strategy may have on the organisation.
2. Identify 5 system development issues in regards to the mobility strategy. Here you are expected to identify areas that the mobility strategy will impact on the IT strategy for the whole organisation.
3. What strategy would you choose for an organisation with a travelling sales force of 150 people working across three (3) different time zones? You must make a recommendation and justify why you have chosen the particular mobility strategy for the given scenario.
4. Based on your recommendation, identify the issues that an organisation should address when developing “Acceptable Use” policy. Do not provide an Acceptable use policy. You have been asked to identify the issues that should be addressed in the policy for the organisation based on the mobility strategy that you have recommended.

Present your answer in a business report format that could be presented to the senior leadership team of an organisation.
 

BYOD, CYOD, and the COPE

An efficient mobility strategy requires an effective integration of mobile technology. Many businesses acknowledge the importance of using personalized mobile technology for improved communication. Efficient communication remains central to effective mobility strategy. BYOD, CYOD, and the COPE are critical mobility strategy techniques, which though compare and contrast significantly, influence organizational efficiency and development greatly. Standing for Bring Your Own Device (BYOD), Choose Your Own Device (CYOD), and Company-Issued, Personally Enabled (COPE), these strategies are different in various ways.

BYOD allows employees to choose and use their personal mobile devices for individual and business operations (Sutton, 2014). The application of the BYOD is more effective with small enterprises with few employees that focuses on cutting operational costs. The application of the strategy allows the company to effectively implement a mobility strategy without incurring major implementation costs. By allowing staff to use personal mobile devices for business and personal pleasure, small companies cut down otherwise unnecessary costs of purchasing mobile devices for the employees (Scardilli, 2014). Further from the aforementioned, small businesses with many casual staff or businesses comprising majorly of casual staff apply this strategy. The application of the strategy, however, comes with various concerns security, compatibility, and reliability concerns (Bender, 2013; McCafferty, 2014).   

The COPE model offers an alternative for companies that use the BYOD strategy. The model offers a user-friendly mobile device experience that is more manageable for information technology as compared to the BYOD model. The main difference between the COPE model and the BYOD strategy is the aspect of ownership (Scardilli, 2014). While the latter depends on the staff to purchase and use their personal mobile devices, the COPE strategy depends on the company to purchase and issue the mobile devices to the employees for work-elated and personal use. Additionally, another difference between the BYOD and COPE models is that the management allows the staff to use their devices freely in case of the BYOD but decides how much freedom the employees have in using the mobile devices with the COPE strategy. As such, BYOD offers the staff more freedom and privacy of using the devices for their personal activities thus making them happier. The COPE model enhances cost effectiveness, improves reliability and security, and improved productivity (Sutton, 2014).  

The CYOD strategy allows the staff to choose company-approved and configured mobile devices for communication. Like the BYOD and the COPE models, CYOD allows the employees to use the devices for personal business. However, unlike COPE and BYOD, the integration of the CYOD strategy of mobility gives the company or enterprise the control over the devices and their hardware. According to Bender (2013), CYOD guarantees security by safeguarding company information through the built-in activity-monitoring and security safeguards. The implementation of the strategy, further, ensures durability, reliability and compatibility. However, just like the COPE model, the CYOD strategy is faced with various privacy concerns since it restricts the use of the devices for any activity that may be termed a distraction. The CYOD and COPE methods are more effective when applied to big companies with multiple employees (Vermaat, Sebok, Freund, Frydenberg, & Campbell, 2016). However, the companies need to have sufficient capital for maintaining the efficiency of the systems.   

System Development Issues in Regards to Mobility Strategy

• Planning

In regards to mobility strategy, systems development should start with effective and sufficient planning. The planning process should include a review of all the strategies and the prioritization of all the possible concerns. The process should involve the allocation of resources for the implementation of the plan. Moreover, the formation of a project development team is of critical importance. The effectiveness of the planning determines the efficiency of the IT strategy (Patel, 2014).

• Analysis

The process of analysis in the development of a mobility strategy system should include the investigation and examination of the various strategies. This process should result to the determination of the most effective strategy. Further, it should involve the consideration of user requirements and the recommendation of a solution. The analysis process allows the choice and implementation of the most effective IT strategy (Guerin & DelPo, 2015).  

• Design

The acquisition of the necessary equipment and the development of the details of the mobility strategy is another critical issue in the development of a system. The efficient choice of the essential materials influences the IT strategy positively (Patel, 2014; Guerin & DelPo, 2015).  

• Implementation

The IT team chosen for the development of the mobility strategy should consider the integration of systems to ensure security, reliability, and compatibility. The installation and testing of new systems and conversion from old to new strategies should form a critical part of the system development. This guarantees the efficiency and effectiveness of the IT strategy (Patel, 2014).

• Security

The consideration of the aspect of security is essential in the development of a system in regards to the mobility strategy. Assessing and monitoring system security is critical for the development of an excellent IT strategy. In the development of a mobility strategy system, a company must protect its data, information, and intellectual property. As such, security plays a significant role in promoting the effectiveness of an efficient IT strategy (Guerin & DelPo, 2015).

Recommendations

Any organization with a considerably large number of travelling sales force requires an effective mobility strategy. After the evaluation of the various strategies, the COPE model is most suited for the company with 150 sales persons working under three different time zones. The implementation of the COPE strategy solves the issue of device duplication and gives the company greater control over its data and intellectual property (Steele, 2016; Patel, 2014). The application of the strategy will give the company the power to decide how the employees use the devices, ensures security, and guarantees efficiency in compatibility (Gordon, 2015; Guerin & DelPo, 2015). The choice of the strategy will ensure the prioritization of security, compatibility, reliability, and durability. This will overcome the cost of buying and maintaining the devices through the application of cost effective strategies.  

Issues that an Organization Should Address When Developing an Acceptable Use Policy

The major issues that the company must consider before the implementation of the COPE strategy include:

• Privacy concerns

The application of the COPE model will allow the company to decide the freedom the employees enjoy while using the mobile devices. The issue of placing restrictions on the personal usage of the devices impacts on the employees’ privacy significantly. As such, the Company should ensure that it minimizes its restrictions as much as possible to offer the employees more freedom and privacy (Steele, 2016).  

• Cost effectiveness

The company will have to incur the costs of purchasing the mobile devices for use by the employees. In doing so, the consideration of cost effectiveness is critical. The company must ensure that it uses less capital in the process but maintain high levels of durability and reliability (Patel, 2014).  

• Security issues

The issue of security is critical for any organization. In the implantation of the COPE strategy which allows the personal use of the devices, the integration of efficient systems that guarantee security and minimize risks is important. The company must allocate sufficient resources for the improvement and assurance of security (Aljawarneh, 2015).

References

Aljawarneh, S. (2015). Advanced Research on Cloud Computing Design and Applications. New York: IGI Global.

Bender, A. (2013). BYOD vs CYOD: Bring or choose your own device? Cio (13284045), 9.

Gordon, J. (2015). Does Your Business Need an Enterprise Mobility Strategy? Retrieved May 9, 2016, from https://enterprisemobile.com/does-your-business-need-an-enterprise-mobility-strategy/

Guerin, L., & DelPo, A. (2015). Create your own employee handbook : a legal & practical guide for employers. Berkeley, California: Nolo.

McCafferty, D. (2014). Surprising Facts About Mobility and BYOD. Baseline, 1.

Patel, R. (2014). Enterprise Mobility Strategy & Solutions. New Delhi: Partridge Publishers.

Scardilli, B. (2014). BYOD or COPE: The Best Mobile Strategy for the Workplace. Information Today, 31 (2), 1-36.

Steele, C. (2016). COPE has emerged as a promising BYOD alternative, but it can cause just as many problems if not approached correctly. Retrieved May 9, 2016, from http://searchmobilecomputing.techtarget.com/tip/BYOD-or-COPE-Which-enterprise-mobility-strategy-is-right-for-you

Sutton, J. H. (2014). BYOD, CYOD, COPE: What Does It All Mean? Retrieved May 9, 2016, from http://www.business2community.com/mobile-apps/byod-cyod-cope-mean-01025828#KFTYTi88zKb8pP9F.97

Vermaat, M. E., Sebok, S. L., Freund, S. M., Frydenberg, M., & Campbell, J. T. (2016). Enhanced Discovering Computers . New York: Cengage Learning.