As everybody kicked off the 2014 celebrations, this New Year was accompanied by an onslaught of big predictions about what 2014 will bring. Following the BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) trend of the past few years and the fact that tablets and PCs have now come under the BYOD umbrella, it seems that BYOD is going to be a mega trend in the current year. It has been predicted by industry experts that this year is going to be sheer madness with regard to BYOD as confusion and complications would rise, infusing big changes to the BYOD policy. So what are the exact BYOD predictions made for 2014? Let’s have a look.

More PCs and Tablets to Fall under the BYOD Policy

Initially BYOD was mostly a smartphone play, but the second half of 2013 saw more PCs and tablets falling under the BYOD policy. The trend is expected to continue this year as well. However, note that this move towards more potent and more critical BYOD tools would also bring a plethora of technical challenges.

Data Security to Become a Challenge

While it has been predicted by industry experts that by the end of 2014, more than 90 percent of enterprises will support corporate applications on personal devices, this will, however, lead to major security challenges with regard to corporate data loss and leakage. Therefore, in 2014 we will see IT shoring up networks and systems to ensure the security of data transmitted over personal smart devices.

Microsoft Windows 8-Based Tablets to Lead

Coming on to the BYOD tablet deployment, in 2014 Windows 8-based tablets are expected to lead the pack. This has been predicted as presently there are a lot many factors that are trending Microsoft’s way, starting from refresh cycles to IT repossessing some control over devices.

BYOD to Become Mandatory

Approximately two years back, VMware had made a significant move by making BYOD mandatory for all its employees in the United States. This means that all VMware employees were necessarily required to use their personal devices for work. In 2014, it is predicted that we might see this trend all over again with a few more companies putting the onus on employees to buy and use their own devices for work as a condition of employment.

Stipends to Increase to Cover PCs and Tablets

Remember the good old days when your company bestowed you with home Internet reimbursement? As more PCs and tablets are coming under BYOD program, it seems that the same trend will follow for BYOD as well with companies paying stipends to cover them.