This is the wrong question - we ought to ask, "Why shouldn't employees select their own PCs?" Or: "Why is my home computing experience so much better than my work experience?"

It's likely your employees are already using personal equipment for work purposes, as they seek ways to improve their productivity. So it's a question of IT departments getting on the bus or getting run over by it.

Much has changed since companies started buying PCs in the mid-80s - price being the main factor. In real terms, computers now cost around one-eighth of what they did then. Furthermore, most people are now savvy enough to make a purchasing decision for themselves. I'm convinced a motivated consumer will be able to get a better price than a procurement specialist when buying a PC.

Not sure? Take a look at your current PC procurement deal and compare it to what's available online. Perhaps you won't find the exact model, but I predict you'll find a model with the same innards and features - at a lower cost.

There are plenty of other benefits, too: self-support (again, reducing costs); employees taking better care of their machines; increased conscientiousness about theft and loss of data, as their personal data will be on the same device; and higher employee satisfaction levels leading to productivity gains. To put it in terms of the bottom line, organisations have, in my experience, achieved savings of up to 50% of their overall PC service line costs by fully embracing a "Bring Your Own Computer" (or BYOC) model.

If I were starting a new company today, I would simply go for a consumer approach to IT, including the PC, public network infrastructure, software-as-a-service and cloud-based servers and storage. What makes it difficult for existing companies is their legacy, which means the real problem is not a technical one, but one of change management.

To handle this, I advise a three-stage process. First, engage the key players. These should include the CIO, CISO and the key functions of HR, procurement, legal and tax. Then, educate your workforce. Formal training, a website with useful information, and being clear about user responsibilities are important. Finally, focus on low-risk opportunities up front - certain jobs, workers and geographies may be easier to start with.

This approach may not work in highly regulated companies. In those cases, I'd look at desktop virtualisation, where an employee could have a locked-down corporate environment supplementing their consumer PC. But for the majority of staff in the majority of businesses, BYOC is an option that all CIOs should consider. By empowering employees to handle more of their personal computing needs, you should be able to free up IT to work on more strategic initiatives, resulting in improved effectiveness for the entire organisation.

Jim Ginsburgh is president of IT consultancy Ginsburgh Consulting LLC and formerly vice president of enterprise architecture at BP, where he pioneered the firm's BYOC initiative.

Do you agree? Have your say by commenting below. And for a contrasting point of view, see see Part 1 of this debate from Alain Fontaine, head of IT at online property portal atHome International Group.