Companies that use e-learning for the continuing education of their employees face a difficult decision: Should employees be allowed to use their own devices? To help facilitate this decision, this article summarizes the opportunities and risks associated with "Bring Your Own Device".

Today over 2.5 billion people own a smartphone. And more and more companies are also relying on mobile devices as part of "Work 4.0". Laptops, smartphones, and tablets promise maximum flexibility in the workplace – anytime and from anywhere via the internet.

In this context, not only is work being digitized, but consequently, so is the training within companies. A study on mobile learning found that in about 70% of companies, mobile learning is either planned or already in use. However, flexible learning in the workplace also brings new challenges for companies.

BYOD – The answer to the flexibilization of work?

One of the unresolved questions in e-learning and mobile learning is: What devices should employees learn with? There are two possible answers to this question: The company provides the mobile devices for training measures – or they rely on BYOD: Bring Your Own Device.

In practice, there is still no consensus on the question of devices, as the following graphic shows: Just under half of the companies use BYOD for mobile learning, while the other half provide devices for this purpose.

Using employees' personal devices is attractive: No costs and little effort for the company! But as always, there are two sides to this issue. Below, we highlight the opportunities and risks of BYOD for e-learning to help you with this decision for your company:

The Positive: Opportunities of BYOD for E-Learning

An article by pulselearning outlines the three main arguments for why companies should utilize employees' devices for e-learning. We summarize them for you:

1. Employee Satisfaction

Humans are creatures of habit! Adjusting to a new device, perhaps even with a completely new operating system and an unfamiliar interface, is taxing and leads to dissatisfaction. The result: Willingness to participate in e-learning decreases even before the actual learning begins. BYOD directly increases the motivation of your employees – and their satisfaction.

2. Flexibility

Spatial and temporal flexibility are two of the main arguments for implementing e-learning or mobile learning in companies. Offering company-owned devices that can only be used at the workplace contradicts these arguments. BYOD, on the other hand, supports the core idea of flexible learning: Most employees carry their own smartphones with them all day, both at home and at work.

3. Cost Savings

This argument is, as already mentioned, very close: The devices that employees already own (and have paid for themselves) incur no acquisition costs for the company. Maintenance, repairs, or replacements are also taken care of by your employees themselves. After all, they need the smartphone or tablet in everyday life as well.

Using personal mobile devices for e-learning increases motivation, enables mobile learning, and saves costs. Source: blink.it

The Negative: Risks of BYOD for E-Learning

Using employees' devices for e-learning in companies also carries some risks, especially regarding functionality and security. You must weigh the following three risk factors against the advantages of BYOD:

1. Adaptability of the Learning Tool

If employees are allowed to use their own mobile devices, it means an unmanageable variety of different devices. The questions you must primarily direct at the selected learning tool include: Does e-learning work on all devices? And are the learning contents displayed correctly on all devices?

Tip: The development of your own software for e-learning can quickly become extremely time-consuming and expensive due to these questions. It is easier if you rely on specialized providers. A responsive design that allows learning content to automatically adjust to all types of devices and display sizes is especially important.

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2. Loss and Theft of Devices

If the smartphone remains in the office or on company premises, it's less flexible but much safer. Always having devices with you everywhere carries the risk that they could be lost or stolen. Particularly smartphones are popular targets for thieves: In Germany, over 600 smartphones are stolen every day! Along with the mobile device, potentially sensitive information can also fall into the hands of unauthorized individuals, such as company data or login credentials for e-learning or other internal systems. Moreover, the affected employee will also (temporarily) lose access to the learning materials.

3. Security of Data on Devices

Even without directly losing the smartphone, tablet, or laptop, sensitive data from your company can fall into the wrong hands. With constant internet access, smartphones are particularly at risk. Unsecured Wi-Fi networks also increase the risk of data theft. Additionally, malicious software (so-called malware) is increasingly infecting smartphones. If malware gains access to the corporate network via an affected mobile device, unpredictable damage can occur.

Reading Tip: You can read about these and other security risks for mobile devices in the report by TrendLabs: "Bring your own device: Trend or Threat?"

Conclusion: Should my company use BYOD for E-Learning?

The opportunities of using personal devices for e-learning in companies lie mainly on the side of the employees: Flexible learning on familiar devices can be done quickly and smoothly, regardless of the workplace.

The risks, on the other hand, primarily concern the security of the company: Through loss, theft, or malicious software, internal corporate data can quickly fall into the wrong hands.

A clear recommendation is not possible in this case. Every company must weigh these opportunities and risks for itself. It is crucial for BYOD to have a detailed discussion with your company's IT department about possibilities and efforts related to data security. If the decision is made for personal devices, ideally a "Plan B" for emergencies should be developed: What happens in the event of loss, theft, or malfunction of personal devices?

One idea would be to start a trial run with a few personal mobile devices when implementing mobile learning. Once e-learning has been established in your company and with the employees, it may be worthwhile in the long run to invest in company-owned devices for broader use.

We look forward to your opinion: Is "Bring Your Own Device" a valuable opportunity or a significant risk for digital education? Feel free to share your assessment or experience in the comments.