The results of the same study go deeper than just brand preference:
While productivity is a very tangible benefit, one intangible benefit from this study really stands out: CYOD helps employees feel proud of where they work. A report by Korn Ferry found that by 2030 a skills gap will create a talent crunch in the financial and business services industry; technology, media, and telecommunications industries, and in manufacturing.2 As finding and retaining highly skilled people becomes a greater challenge, creating a positive culture is critical to your organisation's continued success. CYOD can help.
Here are four compelling ways Apple can help simplify CYOD management for IT:
1. Support an Employee-Focused Experience
It used to be that IT was the gatekeeper, distributing and maintaining the technology types approved by the C-suite. While the benefits to this were many—preselected devices could be ordered in bulk, easily stored, and rolled out on a set schedule—bring your own device (BYOD) programmes upset this natural order by requiring IT to manage a growing number of device and software types, all of which needed to be optimised and secured for enterprise use.
As CYOD programmes become the norm, Apple has worked with enterprises to simplify the process for integrating its devices and software with traditionally Windows-based environments—all with the goal of making IT's life easier. Not only can employees enjoy working more productively on their preferred device, but IT and the finance department can work within set cost structures to roll out the Apple devices and software that make the most sense.
Taking this one step further, allowing employees to be involved in these technology decisions with IT, your organisation can experience greater visibility into how devices are used and how IT maintains them (dealing with help desk requests, for example).
2. Deliver Flexible Financial Models
The reason why enterprises built their technology infrastructure around PCs is pretty simple: PC suppliers could offer low-cost devices that got the job done. Over time, many organisations realised that low costs weren't enough to guarantee device usability. Supporting these devices became an added expense, not to mention that the devices depreciated in value quickly, which never makes for a good investment.
Unlike the PC market, which can be over-saturated with device and software suppliers, Apple designs its products to operate together, providing a seamless integration between hardware and software. In addition to that, if treated well, Apple's products can remain reliable and retain their value—even as they reach the end of their lifecycles.
Additionally, by allowing employees to create a personal investment in their device, the device will be treated better and retain its value and usefulness longer. In situations where it makes sense, your organisation could offer a fixed type of device to all employees, while offering employees the flexibility to upgrade their machines with the eye towards potentially buying out the machine at the end of its corporate use.
3. Personalise, Provision, and Deploy Devices and Apps in a Secure Environment
Updating device software and security will always remain a challenge for IT. Where BYOD programmes made these updates trickier, CYOD gives IT greater control over what kind of security and software can be installed on corporate devices, as well as when to rollout updates. In short, Apple's infrastructure is designed to allow personal and corporate data to exist on the same device—without compromising security or productivity.
Apple products offer zero-touch deployment, which means that IT can configure the devices to have the appropriate security, software, permissions, and more over the cloud. With these controls in place, employees can still personalise their devices without risking security. By allowing employees to install recommended apps or productivity apps of their choice, they'll value the device more and care for it better.
In addition, apps like Microsoft Office, Microsoft Exchange, and Google G Suite are developed specifically for Mac users—and O365 and G Suite are developed and used on iOS, as well as macOS—so your Mac and PC users will still experience a near-seamless collaboration.
4. Make Support a Shared Experience
Supporting and maintaining legacy products is time and resource consuming. When IT teams are constantly addressing the same issues, they're less likely to contribute to ideas and activities that will provide a greater strategic value to your organisation. On the other side of this equation, when employees struggle to complete their daily activities on unreliable devices, they're much more likely to open up help desk tickets to resolve issues that they could resolve on their own.
By giving employees the choice to work on devices that they're already familiar with, they'll be less likely to need IT support to resolve small problems. In addition, Apple's support services, like AppleCare programmes, work in tandem with IT help desks to provide user-centric supports. Apple has created frequently updated self-support wikis and documentation—to help users become self-sufficient.
By enabling users to have a shared stake in supporting their equipment, they'll be more engaged with their devices, which will lead to fewer instances of downtime or lost productivity. And when a problem is too big for a user to fix, Apple can support your IT team with the right level of care.
By making the best technology decisions today, you can work towards a more empowered and productive tomorrow.
For more information on how CDW can help your organisation purchase, provision, deploy and support Apple products and realise the multiple benefits of using Apple products in their corporate environment, contact 020 7791 6000 or email ApplePractice@uk.cdw.com
References
2 https://dsqapj1lakrkc.cloudfront.net/media/sidebar_downloads/FOWTalentCrunchFinal_Spring2018.pdf