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Cell Phone Policy
December 13, 2019
In recent years, policies for corporate use cell phones have evolved to the point where most organizations no longer provide corporate liable devices (those paid for by the organization) to their employees. While there are some circumstances which warrant a small number of corporate liable devices for certain types of employees to be maintained, for the most part, organizations are moving to a BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) environment. There are multiple factors contributing to this evolution:
- Smart devices have become commonplace among users
- Cell phone plans today typically include ample usage allowances for voice, text and data to handle both personal and business calling at very competitive rates
- Organizations no longer want to manage these devices and associated costs:
- Ongoing management of cell phone plans
- Responsibility for loss or breakage
- Providing accessories such as headsets, cases, etc.
In addition, MDM (Mobile Device Management) applications provide both BYOD device manageability and security for corporate information without controlling a user’s personal information.
In some organizations, it is policy to provide a small stipend for covering the cost associated with business cell phone use for personal cell phones. This is either a mandate by law, as in California, or simply company policy. As users’ cell phone plans increasingly have ample usage allowances to cover both personal and business use, fewer organizations are offering a stipend, if not governed by law.
CASE STUDY:
Optisave was asked to review the cell phone policy of a large health system in the Midwest. It had previously eliminated nearly all corporate liable devices but was paying over $2M annually in stipends. After thorough review of users’ bills, it was determined that this stipend could be totally eliminated without additional cost to the users.
Optisave can assist in the review of your cellphone policy and work with your organization to develop a solution that optimizes both the management and cost associated with cell phones.
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