Desire for Mobility is Driving Growing Use of Consumer Devices and Apps in Workplace

 A year after initial Unisys Corporation  research showed that enterprise IT departments were unprepared for the rapidly growing usage of consumer technologies in the workplace, a Unisys-sponsored follow-on study reveals that this "consumerization gap" may be widening.

The study, conducted for Unisys by International Data Corp. (IDC), indicates that IT departments see business value in the consumerization of IT trend and are committed to supporting it, but are hamstrung by security and support issues and a growing workload.

"The good news from the new research is that, in contrast to last year, IT executives are recognizing that the consumerization of IT trend is real and inevitable," said Fred Dillman, Unisys chief technology officer. "However, they appear to be frozen by the magnitude of issues created by the rapidly growing usage of consumer technologies within the enterprise. Worse, the research reveals that IT executives and departments are not taking proactive steps to ready their organizations and applications to serve the needs of increasingly mobile customers and take full advantage of emerging growth opportunities in the marketplace."

Key Findings from iWorker Survey: Desire for Mobility is Driving Growing Use of Consumer Devices and Apps in Workplace

The 2011 research is based on responses from two separate but related surveys conducted in nine countries. One study surveyed nearly 2,660 information workers ("iWorkers") within organizations, while the second study polled some 560 IT department executives and managers. The surveys were conducted in nine countries worldwide.

The global results show that iWorkers are bringing personal devices into the enterprise at an increasing rate. In fact, 40 percent of the devices they use to access business applications are personally owned a 10-percentage-point increase from last year.

Usage of social media applications, blogging, and microblogging in the enterprise is also on the rise. The Unisys-sponsored research shows that usage of Facebook and MySpace for business purposes has more than doubled over the past year (20 percent of respondents in 2011 vs. 8 percent in 2010). The number of iWorkers using blogs, wikis, forums and message boards on the job is up nearly 50 percent (33 percent of respondents vs. 23 percent in 2010), as is usage of Twitter and other microblogging tools for work (13 percent of respondents vs. 9 percent in 2010). Business usage of LinkedIn, Plaxo and similar applications has also grown substantially (31 percent of respondents vs. 23 percent in 2010).

The increasing penetration of consumer technology in the enterprise is being driven by a desire for mobility. Fifty-three percent of iWorkers surveyed say that mobile devices such as laptops, smartphones and tablets are their most critical devices for doing work, up from 44 percent in 2010. In addition, 65 percent of iWorkers say that a mobile device will be their most critical work device in 2012. Seven percent of iWorkers say that the Apple iPad will be the most critical device for doing work in 2012.

Key Findings from IT Survey: Executives Recognize the Trend, but Are Falling Further Behind in Consumerization Race

Three quarters of IT executives surveyed say that company policies allowing personal devices increase employee morale and 72 percent say that employees who bring consumer devices into the workplace are more productive.

Despite this growing awareness, however, the research found that IT departments are falling further behind in the consumerization race occurring within their organizations.

iWorkers report using smart mobile devices for business purposes at twice the rate that IT executives believe to be the case (69 percent usage reported by iWorkers vs. 34 percent usage reported by IT executives). In addition, 44 percent of iWorkers report using social networks and communities for customer communication, while only 28 percent of employers believe that to be the case.

From a support perspective, IT executives give their organizations poor scores for supporting consumer devices and applications in the workplace, rating themselves only 2.9 on a 1.0-to-5.0 scale. Compared to 2010, IT respondents rate themselves lower in support for employee-owned smartphones and tablets, social applications and integration of social apps with enterprise applications.

IT departments also seem to be falling further behind in terms of readying their organizations to serve new generations of mobile, tech-savvy consumers. Only 6 percent of IT decision-makers surveyed report that their organization has modernized customer-facing applications to work with mobile devices, and 89 percent report that they have no plans to do so over the next year.

When asked what are the greatest barriers to enabling employees to use personal devices at work, 83 percent of IT respondents cite "security concerns" and 56 percent say "viruses from social networks such as Facebook."

Ironically, however, IT respondents indicate that they now do less than they did in 2010 to secure mobile devices in several areas, including publication of social media guidelines (46 percent vs. 60 percent), required employee training (52 percent vs. 64 percent), usage of complex passwords (48 percent vs. 57 percent) and single sign-on (52 percent vs. 73 percent).

Constrained resources also appear to be a barrier: 80 percent of IT respondents say that their department workload is increasing due to consumerization. They report that nearly 60 percent of the time, employees encountering a problem with a personal device used for business will contact the IT department for help rather than troubleshoot the problem themselves or contact the technology provider.

From a governance perspective, 87 percent of IT respondents report that they follow the old model of purchasing standard mobile devices for employees and paying usage charges. However, more than half of iWorkers surveyed report that they have purchased their own consumer devices for work purposes without employer reimbursement, including 56 percent of Android phone users,

53 percent of iPhone users and 51 percent of iPad users. Only 15 percent of Android users, 13 percent of iPhone users and 14 percent of iPad users report that their employers bought the device for them.

Overall, 70 percent of the IT executives surveyed rated their organizations as late or "last to use" adopters of new technology.

"This new research indicates that too many IT executives are acting as custodians of the status quo, not as the innovators they need to be for their enterprises to benefit fully from consumerization of IT," said Frank Gens, chief analyst, IDC. "IT needs to make a concerted effort to gain better visibility into the consumer devices and social applications employees actually want to use for work and devise smart, flexible policies for managing and securing those technologies. If IT executives can do that, they'll find that consumerization of IT opens up a whole new range of opportunities for their business."

Featured

  • CISA Kicks Off 20th Anniversary of Cybersecurity Awareness Month

    CISA Kicks Off 20th Anniversary of Cybersecurity Awareness Month

    The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) recently announced the kickoff of the 20th Cybersecurity Awareness Month. Throughout October, CISA and the National Cybersecurity Alliance (NCA) will focus on ways to “Secure Our World” by educating the public on how to stay safe online. Read Now

  • Cybersecurity Awareness Month: Top Five Action Items to Elevate Your Data Security Posture Management and Secure Your Data

    October is Cybersecurity Awareness Month, and every year most tips for security hygiene and staying safe have not changed. We’ve seen them all – use strong passwords, deploy multi-factor authentication (MFA), be vigilant to spot phishing attacks, regularly update software and patch your systems. These are great recommended ongoing tips and are as relevant today as they’ve ever been. But times have changed and these best practices can no longer be the bare minimum. Read Now

  • Boosting Safety and Efficiency

    Boosting Safety and Efficiency

    In alignment with the state of Mississippi’s mission of “Empowering Mississippi citizens to stay connected and engaged with their government,” Salient's CompleteView VMS is being installed throughout more than 150 state boards, commissions and agencies in order to ensure safety for thousands of constituents who access state services daily. Read Now

  • Live From GSX: Post-Show Review

    Live From GSX: Post-Show Review

    This year’s Live From GSX program was a rousing success! Again, we’d like to thank our partners, and IPVideo, for working with us and letting us broadcast their solutions to the industry. You can follow our Live From GSX 2023 page to keep up with post-show developments and announcements. And if you’re interested in working with us in 2024, please don’t hesitate to ask about our Live From programs for ISC West in March or next year’s GSX. Read Now

    • Industry Events
    • GSX

Featured Cybersecurity

New Products

  • ResponderLink

    ResponderLink

    Shooter Detection Systems (SDS), an Alarm.com company and a global leader in gunshot detection solutions, has introduced ResponderLink, a groundbreaking new 911 notification service for gunshot events. ResponderLink completes the circle from detection to 911 notification to first responder awareness, giving law enforcement enhanced situational intelligence they urgently need to save lives. Integrating SDS’s proven gunshot detection system with Noonlight’s SendPolice platform, ResponderLink is the first solution to automatically deliver real-time gunshot detection data to 911 call centers and first responders. When shots are detected, the 911 dispatching center, also known as the Public Safety Answering Point or PSAP, is contacted based on the gunfire location, enabling faster initiation of life-saving emergency protocols. 3

  • XS4 Original+

    XS4 Original+

    The SALTO XS4 Original+ design is based on the same proven housing and mechanical mechanisms of the XS4 Original. The XS4 Original+, however, is embedded with SALTO’s BLUEnet real-time functionality and SVN-Flex capability that enables SALTO stand-alone smart XS4 Original+ locks to update user credentials directly at the door. Compatible with the array of SALTO platform solutions including SALTO Space data-on-card, SALTO KS Keys as a Service cloud-based access solution, and SALTO’s JustIn Mobile technology for digital keys. The XS4 Original+ also includes RFID Mifare DESFire, Bluetooth LE and NFC technology functionality. 3

  • A8V MIND

    A8V MIND

    Hexagon’s Geosystems presents a portable version of its Accur8vision detection system. A rugged all-in-one solution, the A8V MIND (Mobile Intrusion Detection) is designed to provide flexible protection of critical outdoor infrastructure and objects. Hexagon’s Accur8vision is a volumetric detection system that employs LiDAR technology to safeguard entire areas. Whenever it detects movement in a specified zone, it automatically differentiates a threat from a nonthreat, and immediately notifies security staff if necessary. Person detection is carried out within a radius of 80 meters from this device. Connected remotely via a portable computer device, it enables remote surveillance and does not depend on security staff patrolling the area. 3