Standardized Corporate Device Policies Can Cut Costs, Drive Business Growth

Employees are wasting over two hours a day on their personal smartphones at work, which lowers productivity and it also costs U.S. businesses a jaw-dropping $650 billion every year. But here’s the good news—you can actually fix this with a simple solution: a standardized corporate device policy. When you give your employees the same, pre-configured devices—whether it’s a phone, laptop, or tablet—you can cut down on those distractions since they won’t feel the need to reach for their personal gadgets as much. And it doesn’t stop there: with a policy like this, you can make sure all devices have the same software, apps, and security features, so you’re boosting productivity as well as protecting company data and reducing the need for IT support. And another bonus is that all the money you save by reducing distractions and cutting down on support costs can be reinvested back into your business to fuel growth.

Better device and data security

50% of companies with employees who access work data on personal devices have experienced a data breach as a direct result. These incidents are as costly as they are stressful—small-to-medium businesses usually pay between $826 and $653,587 to recover from a single breach. But, a standardized device policy minimizes this expensive risk as you (or your IT team) now get to configure company devices to keep them as secure as possible. For example, automatic software updates with the latest security patches can be enabled on all company laptops, phones, and tablets. Likewise, you can download a virtual private network (VPN) onto every device to create a private connection between the device and server—even when employees log on off-site.  

Your corporate device security policy should also extend to secure laptop retrievals from employees who no longer work at your company. There’s a one-in-ten chance a laptop will be stolen, and that’s coupled with just a 2% recovery rate—so you don’t want to leave any of your company laptops unaccounted for. Fortunately, a clear and easy-to-follow returns policy makes laptop retrievals convenient and doable for employees. So, tell employees how exactly they should return company assets and how long they have to do so. Make this clear in their contract, and you’ll be rewarded with less missing equipment and greater peace of mind.

Streamline and simplify IT support 

As your IT team only needs to be well-versed with one set of devices and operating systems, any issues that crop up become quicker and easier to resolve—which also keeps overall maintenance costs down. This sort of fast problem resolution is all the more important when you also consider that employees typically waste over twenty minutes per day due to IT-related issues. At the same time, you need to be clear with employees on the type of support your IT team is happy to provide—otherwise they may get excessive requests for help with non-work related apps (if you choose to allow any at all on the devices). To further reduce IT problems and associated costs, you should also ask your IT team to make it so that employees aren’t authorized to uninstall software or change pre-set security and configuration settings. 

Save money (and use it to grow your business) 

A uniform corporate device policy also makes it easier to keep technology costs to a minimum. The average business spends at least $700 per month on all IT-related expenses combined, but when company devices are standardized, it’s easier to cut these costs. For example, most software providers (including Adobe and Microsoft) provide businesses with volume discounts on software licenses purchased in bulk. As your employees will use the same software across all corporate devices, you can benefit from bigger savings. Always compare prices, and don’t be afraid to negotiate a better deal with vendors or suppliers. This policy also keeps your IT costs fairly predictable. You’ll have a good idea of how much support, maintenance, and replacement fees cost per device, which makes it easier to budget for  growth. Any funds you free up as a result can be invested back into your business. 

If you provide your employees with the same, pre-configured company laptops, phones, and tablets, you’ll improve productivity, improve security, and lower costs all thanks to this one policy change. In turn, you’ll benefit from a more efficient and cost-effective operation that ultimately paves the way for greater long-term business growth.

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Nina S. Blake is a writer with a research journalism background, who is always eager to explore new niches and tackle diverse subjects.