The results of a new survey conducted by Ipsos MORI on behalf of Huddle show that 73% of office workers download personal software onto enterprise-owned tablets, while 52% use personal devices for business content.
According to Ipsos MORI, the survey of 2 000 US office workers indicates that organisations need to tighten security and control in the post-PC era. The increasingly blurred lines between personal and enterprise devices will result in a concomitant increase in security risks, says the organisation.
Not even half (44%) of US office workers use company-issued devices, according to the survey, but among those who do, downloading personal software such as Dropbox is common practice. Although many enterprises employ bring your own device (BYOD) policies, the study shows that, in many cases, enterprise-owned gadgets are being used alongside personal gadgets, rather than being replaced by them.
Of the office workers surveyed, 20% wanted to be able to use their personal devices for work purposes; 37% stored work documents on their personal laptops; 12% on personal smartphones; and 8% on personal tablets. These figures are disconcerting when considering that 6% of office workers reported having lost a laptop, smartphone or tablet. Workers between the ages of 25 and 38 were the worst offenders at downloading personal content onto company devices, while younger workers aged 18 to 24 were worst at storing work-related information on personal devices.
"We're now seeing millions of power workers using their personal devices alongside company-issued smartphones, laptops and tablets," explains Jim Lundy, CEO and lead analyst at Aragon Research.
"These employees have created their own workplace, using the most effective tools for the time, place and task to maximise their own productivity. With IT groups no longer identifying and provisioning the best technology for business, their challenge is to effectively manage the mixture of enterprise and personal devices and applications present in their organisations."
The security problems associated with these blurred lines act in both directions, says Ipsos MORI, explaining that companies need to ensure company data on personal devices is safe, while simultaneously ensuring that company-issued devices are protected in the case of theft or loss. Both private and enterprise devices should be protected from viruses and malware should employees be careless about downloads.
"The meteoric rise of the cloud and mobile devices - whether personal or company property - in the workplace, along with people's expectations that they should be able to work from any location, at any time, means it's no longer possible to keep all corporate data on company premises," explains Alastair Mitchell, CEO of Huddle. "The post-PC era is well and truly here. Organisations now need to consider how they stop company data walking out of the door with people and what measures need to be put in place to ensure teams can get their jobs done without compromising security."
To reduce security problems, apps used on employee devices should be simple to use to ensure users do not turn to consumer apps to be able to work more easily, says Mitchell, adding that enterprise apps should also employ granular permission, encryption and remote wipe capabilities.
"Personal productivity tools are rapidly advancing, so businesses need to let workers maximise their own capabilities, while protecting enterprise data and systems," says Lundy. "Enterprise-grade services that combine security with usability present organisations with the best of both worlds."
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