Measuring the true cost of BYOD programs

Today you may have read that I am attempting a new form of story - a one month, rolling blog format that takes in feedback on my assumptions and methodology - in a quest to measure the true cost of BYOD programs.

The first item on my agenda is to narrow my scope. Every organisation has varying operating models, user needs and exposure to risk, so I need to generalise a little to sum up common approaches to solving the dilemma so far.

This is what I'd like to start with:

• The fleet approach: Provisioning one standard device (usually RIM's Blackberry, in the past), with a single management framework, benefiting from discounts gained from suppliers, devices remain corporate property, refresh every three to four years.
   
• The approved device approach: Support for a short-list of approved devices at the expense of the enterprise, purchased under an employee stipend/loan/salary packaging, limited potential for a supplier discount, devices remain staff property, refreshed at staff expense.
   
• The open approach: Support for unlimited range of devices, licensing of mobile device management software or other such solutions, no supplier discounts, devices remain staff property, refreshed at staff expense.

I’d like to think I have most bases covered - with relatively few variables - using the fleet, approved device and open approaches. I’m keen to hear from you if you think otherwise.

Here are the questions I’m looking to answer to get the ball rolling:

1. What number of devices would represent the average Australian enterprise?
   I need the data to be as meaningful for large enterprise as medium-sized organisations. Is 2000 a good number? I’m thinking something between the 2000 employees at a government agency like DEEWR,  and the 45,000 at the Commonwealth Bank.
    
2. What access does large enterprise have to supplier discounts on handsets, tablets or laptops?
   Do discounts kick in at 200 devices, or closer to 1000? Do the discounts get any better for 2000, 5000 or 10,000 devices?
    
3. What is the average stipend allocated to Australian employees for smartphones or tablets? 
   And what is the relative cost of opting for low-cost loans or salary packaging instead? Further, what would be a meaningful number of devices to support under an approved device strategy? Three? Five?
    
4. Will your smartphone or tablet last you three to four years before requiring a new device as they have in the past?
    
5. What is the per-seat cost of popular mobile device management tools on the market? 

If you have answers to any of these questions, I’d love to hear from you. Tune in tomorrow and we’ll take this conversation a little further.