BYON, or Bring Your Own Network, is an evolution of the term BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) in the consumerization of IT that refers to the growing use of personal networks by employees for increased productivity in their work environments.
BYON: Cloud Services, Hot Spots and More
Also referred to as Build Your Own Network, Bring Your Own Network can apply to a variety of non-corporate network and cloud services that employees might access while at the office or working remotely. Examples of BYON include accessing mobile hot spots, setting up a hot spot with a mobile device or creating a personal network.
Security Concerns and BYON
Bring Your Own Network brings with it a variety of security concerns, as the data consumed and transmitted over BYON is no longer on the securely protected corporate network. As a result, it’s become important for enterprises to create and enforce Bring Your Own Network policies to help ensure data remains secure even when employees use their own networks or other non-corporate networks.
In addition to employee education and governance, corporate Bring Your Own Network policies may include the use of Virtual Private Network (VPN) access, encryption of data transferred and stored via BYON and the extension of Identity and Access Management (IAM) to BYON.
Related Terms: Consumerization of IT, Bring Your Own Device (BYOD), Bring Your Own Apps (BYOA), Bring Your Own Cloud (BYOC)
