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The best of all worlds: embracing the BYOD model without putting critical data at risk

The best of all worlds: embracing the BYOD model without putting critical data at risk

In just a few short years, the way we work has changed forever, with employees at all levels now working at home, in the office, and on the move, communicating and collaborating with customers and colleagues in ways that would have previously been inconceivable. However, as we have seen in recent months, with numerous high-profile cyber-attacks on corporate infrastructure, we can never allow ourselves to become complacent when it comes to the security of critical data. In other words, while we should certainly be ready to explore new models of working, the opportunities on offer must not blind us to potential cyber risks.

Let's consider, for example, the now ubiquitous Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) model…

The BYOD model simply means employees are allowed to utilise whichever devices they like for work purposes, utilising them to connect to corporate networks in and out of the office. While this concept has existed for some years now, the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting lockdowns saw numerous organisations rush to implement the concept at scale, ensuring their employees could transition to remote working with minimal disruption.

While this was largely successful in terms of maintaining BAU as much as possible, in the years since lockdown, many organisations have found that these hastily implemented policies have introduced a number of challenges – some obvious, some less so – for internal IT teams.

These include:

  • Allowing employees the freedom to use their preferred devices without compromising the integrity of corporate infrastructure  
  • Ensuring users' personal data is not inadvertently put at risk
  • Maintaining full compliance with an evolving range of data protection regulations
  • Ensuring a diverse range of devices and operating systems all receive the latest security updates as soon as they become available
  • Ensuring corporate security policies are consistently enforced every time employees connect to the corporate network, without this requiring an impractical level of manual effort

All IT teams will already have systems and processes in place for asset management, ensuring corporate devices are kept secure throughout their lifespans and that users are equipped with whatever they need to best fulfil their roles. However, when employees are free to connect through whatever devices they like, control and visibility become increasingly difficult to maintain.

IT Service Management (ITSM) platforms must therefore evolve, providing IT teams with the tools they need to accommodate BYOD and other new ways of working without requiring the inherent cost and complexity of building a bespoke solution in-house.

We explore these challenges in our latest report, Rethinking IT Service Management: A New Model of Seamless IT for the Modern Workforce, in which our IT experts posit a new approach that allows for a truly holistic view of all workflows while still providing employees with the flexibility to which they have become accustomed. 

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Compliance cannot be an afterthought – it must be inherent in the design of all IT Service Management platforms

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The regulatory landscape is more complex than ever, with organisations across the public and private sectors having to meet an increasingly stringent range of obligations across all aspects of their services, including their IT ecosystems. Far from a box-ticking exercise, this is an essential part of strengthening business' overall security and resilience in the face of numerous aggressive, highly sophisticated cyberattacks. Indeed, as we closed out the first half of 2025, 67% of medium businesses and 74% of large businesses had experienced a breach or cyberattack of some description[1]

The evolution of the regulatory landscape is an appropriate response to these threats, helping minimise the risk of serious breaches affecting critical services that citizens depend on. To this end, G-Cloud bids require organisations to have IT Service Management (ITSM) tooling in place, in full compliance with the ITIL standard, without which they will be unable to bid on some of the most sought-after public sector contracts.

This presents a number of singular challenges for organisations, many of whom will not have the time, resources, or internal expertise to develop a bespoke ITSM platform in-house. However, most off-the-shelf platforms lack the flexibility required to accommodate the required tooling.

As a result, too many organisations will miss out on potentially lucrative business opportunities. But rather than treat these new compliance obligations as a burden, we should look at them as an opportunity to establish a new standard for ITSM deployments, ensuring they continue to form the foundation of seamless, secure IT that supports organisations' efficiency, innovation, and ongoing growth. This means a 'best of both worlds' scenario, where the cost efficiency and streamlined deployments of off-the-shelf solutions is combined with bespoke solutions' ability to accommodate the most rigorous compliance obligations.

This will require a whole new approach to

ITSM – one which we explore in depth in our latest report, Rethinking IT Service Management: A New Model of Seamless IT for the Modern Workforce. Inside, our own IT specialists explore the emerging challenges that successful ITSM deployments present to organisations, along with all the operational and business benefits that a world-class platform can open up. If you are in any doubt about whether your ITSM platform will remain fit for purpose in the years ahead, do not make any new investment until you have considered this information. Read the report now, and do not hesitate to get in touch if you would like to explore any aspect of your unique digital journey with our experts.

Don't Let Outdated Systems Leave You Exposed — The Future of Seamless IT Support

Modern ITSM is no longer optional - it's essential. The rise of remote work, tougher regulation, and growing cyber threats has exposed the limits of traditional, reactive systems. Weak workflows, lack of integration, and compliance gaps are risks that can't be ignored.

This whitepaper sets out a new framework: AI-powered automation, integrated security, and scalable architecture built for modern demands. It explains why compliance isn't a burden but a competitive necessity - especially in the public sector - and argues that expert delivery is just as important as the right tools.

Dive in if you want to future-proof your IT, protect your data, and avoid being caught out when the next crisis hits.

Rethinking IT Service Management
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This isn't hyperbole on my part. You just have to look at the news on any given day. We've all heard the horror stories of organisations in both the public and private sectors experiencing prolonged downtime during disasters due to inadequate preparation, lack of testing, and the unsuitability of their legacy remediation processes and systems.

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On the 18th March 2024, the Information Commissioner's Office issued its updated guidance around the issuing of fines when organisations have been found liable for the integrity of their customers' or end users' data being compromised. It is already well-established now that failure to ensure critical data remains secure will result in costly fines, as we have seen repeatedly in multiple high-profile cases over the years.

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