Look around. On the street, at restaurants, sports events, and stores, you’ll find many people using their smartphones. And many people are starting to use these devices on the job as well. According to a Juniper Research report, the number of employees who use personal devices at work will increase to 350 million by 2014. About 150 million people use their own mobile phones and tablets at the workplace today.

If almost everyone has a personal smartphone, why not use it for work? Employees using their own smartphones would allow companies to enjoy all of the same benefits of a mobile workforce without spending their own money on these devices, but IT departments need to overcome several logistical hurdles to make that vision a reality. Using personal devices for business poses difficult problems for companies, including security, inventory management, support, integrating mobile devices into pre-existing IT functions and systems, and measuring return on investment. In other words, it’s not that simple.

1. What are the advantages and disadvantages of allowing employees to use their personal smartphones for work?
2. What management, organization, and technology factors should be addressed when deciding whether to allow employees to use their personal smartphones for work?

3. Allowing employees to use their own smartphones for work will save the company money. Do you agree? Why or why not?