Want to make your cloud data more secure? Byod!

The growing popularity of carrying your own device office (BYOD) policy has worried traditional advocates such as CIOs and security experts, but BYOD makes data more secure for organizations that already use software as a service (SaaS) solution. The reason is simple: BYOD reduces the likelihood of user error.

BYOD refers to the policy of allowing employees to use their own computing equipment at work. With BYOD, companies cut the cost of hardware purchases and maintenance, and employees are free to choose which phones, tablets, or laptops best suit their preferences.

The obvious disadvantage of BYOD is that it is difficult to support and protect all kinds of equipment. Many companies have turned to SaaS solutions as a solution to these problems.

For example, using Google Apps means that no files or e-mails are stored on any dedicated BYOD hardware, minimizing the risk of physical data loss. Google Apps can access any modern, mainstream browser to ensure that any BYOD laptop, tablet or mobile phone can access the service.

The biggest threat to data residing on the cloud is the user's own error. Take Google Apps, 63% of the data loss is due to the user's own error, not because of Google's application services failed.

If employees can choose the equipment they use most comfortably, they will theoretically make fewer mistakes when using the device. In addition, if employees work with the same BYOD hardware as their customers, they will develop more functionality for the device, which will further reduce the likelihood of user errors.

For example, a user has a Windows working computer and a MacBook personal notebook computer. The keyboard shortcuts for each platform are slightly different, making it easy to distort the copy-and-paste functionality in the word processor and spreadsheet. These conversion errors can be eliminated by BYOD policies and using a MacBook computer at work.

For non-SaaS organizations, One-third of data loss is caused by user errors, second only to hardware failure.

There has been no rigorous research on the error rates before and after the adoption of BYOD policies by users. However, through the familiarity and comfort of the BYOD device, it reduces the user error probability to some extent.

BYOD can't make your data invulnerable, but with good security policies, training for regular users, and effective data backup, it can make a significant difference in the availability and integrity of your company's data.