We are a church of around 3,000 people with a small but capable IT department. For years, we have handled the procurement and maintenance of all “computer related” equipment for our users. Desktops and Laptops primarily, with some tablets thrown in over the last couple years. Each staff person is responsible for their own phone purchase so we have not gotten involved much with that on the purchasing side.
What we have begun to see as we grow and become more departmentalized as a staff is that each department is wanting to buy some iPads or iPad minis for use for various things; broadcasting a session on Facebook Live, being a secondary device for users who travel a lot, etc. Up to now we have managed those device purchases and mobile management, however people are wanting to start to move these purchases “within their department” buying the tablets they want without IT involvement and not having to worry about Mobile management, warranties, etc.
Part of me likes the idea of less things to keep track of, however I am concerned about where this might lead us 3-5 years from now. If it creates a long term problem, I would rather not start down that road. What I was hoping for here was some feedback from some of you who are maybe further down this road than we are and what insight you might have.