Should Employees Buy Their Own Computers?

Local ID10T writes "Data security vs. productivity. We have all heard the arguments. Most of us use some of our personal equipment for work, but is it a good idea? 'You are at work. Your computer is five years old, runs Windows XP. Your company phone has a tiny screen and doesn't know what the internet is. Idling at home is a snazzy, super-fast laptop, and your own smartphone is barred from accessing work e-mail. There's a reason for that: IT provisioning is an expensive business. Companies can struggle to keep up with the constant rate of technological change. The devices employees have at home and in their pockets are often far more powerful than those provided for them. So what if you let your staff use their own equipment?' Companies such as Microsoft, Intel, Kraft, Citrix, and global law firm SNR Denton seem to think it's a decent idea."

Comments

step one: allow them to do so

[Surt]

2: Require them to do so.
3: Don't pay them to do so.
4: Profit!

Re:Good for everybody but the IT guy?

[COMON$]

Only if that 5 year old pentium D has had a hard drive refresh recently and is not a laptop. I have been in this industry for a while...machines get slower over time. Not relatively slower, but measurably, due to flex in the motherboard, wearing down of moving parts, static buildup...it happens, companies just need to learn to budget appropriately, you dont need to buy a secretary a Workstation, a terminal will do just fine or a simple celeron processor. Just budget for replacing every 3 years. So if you have a budget of $200 a year for a PC you can buy a $600 PC...that is a good machine with a decent warranty.