90% of Employees Use Personal Devices for Work
A survey by DELL Kace (DELL) found IT managers feel they lack the necessary tools to properly manage BTOD personal devices. In the study, IT managers revealed they are unable to effectively protect corporate data and intellectual property as well as ensure compliance. Help Net Security says key survey findings include:
- 87% of companies have employees that use a personal device for work including laptops, smartphones and tablet computers.
- 82% citing their concerns about the use of personal devices for business use
- 64% revealed they are not confident that they know of all personal devices being used for business purposes
- 62% specifically concerned about network security breaches
- 60% reported a greater demand for support of Mac OS X since the introduction of the Apple (AAPL) iPad and iPhone
- 59% reported their personal devices have created the need to support multiple operating systems (OS’s).
- 32% revealed employees use unauthorized personal devices and applications to connect to their network
On the governance side:
- 88% said they believe it is important to have a policy in place to support personal devices, and another 62 percent revealed their organization lacks the necessary tools to manage personal devices.
“It’s absolutely essential that IT teams deploy a strategy that provides end-to-end management capabilities on a variety of operating systems to effectively protect networks and address the consumerization and personalization of IT,” said Rob Meinhardt, general manager and co-founder for Dell KACE.
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Unlike other BYOD security solutions that force organizations to install software on every new device, Lancope’s StealthWatch System provides security for any device entering the network, without having to install more software on the device or deploy expensive probes. Help Net Security reports that StealthWatch performs behavioral analysis on flow data from existing infrastructure to deliver end-to-end visibility and security across an organization’s entire network.
Net flow data already exists in network infrastructure devices to monitor network and host activity. Since net flow is already in most network equipment, it provides a cost-effective tool for monitoring mobile devices. The article says flow-based monitoring can uncover external attacks like botnets, worms, viruses or APTs, as well as internal risks such as network misuse, policy violations and data leakage. It can also be leveraged for other efforts including regulatory compliance and capacity planning, and for ensuring high levels of network and mobile device performance.
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Cisco says that IT is accepting, and in some cases embracing, “bring your own device” (BYOD). Help Net Security reports that the networking giant found that some of the pros and cons associated with allowing employees to use their own mobile devices on their employers’ networks has become a reality in the enterprise.
The Cisco (CSCO) study BYOD and Virtualization (PDF) found most enterprises are now enabling BYOD.
- 95% of responding firms permit employee-owned devices in some way in the workplace.
- The average number of connected devices per knowledge worker will grow from 2.8 in 2012 to 3.3 by 2014.
- 76% of IT leaders surveyed categorized BYOD as a positive for their companies and challenging for IT.
The survey says employees are turning to BYOD because they want more control of their work experience:
- 40% of respondents cited “device choice” as employees’ top BYOD priority (the ability to use their favorite device anywhere).
- Employees’ second BYOD priority is the wish to do personal activities at work, and work activities during personal time.
- Staff wants to bring their own applications to work: 69% of respondents said that unapproved applications, especially social networks, cloud-based email, and instant messaging, are more prevalent today than two years ago.
- Employees are willing to invest to improve their work experience. Cisco employees pay an average of $600 out-of-pocket for devices that will give them more control over their work experience the report says.
The article says these findings underscore that BYOD is here to stay, and managers are now acknowledging the need for a more holistic approach, one that is scalable and addresses mobility, security, virtualization, and network policy management, to keep management costs in line while simultaneously providing optimal experiences where savings can be realized.
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Ralph Bach has been in IT long enough to know better and has blogged from his Bach Seat about IT, careers, and anything else that catches his attention since 2005. You can follow him on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter. Email the Bach Seat here.
For too long in the U.S., Congress has attempted to legislate the Internet in favor of big corporations and heavy-handed law enforcement at the expense of its users’ basic Constitutional rights. The Electronic Frontier Foundation writes that Netizens’ strong desire to keep the Internet open and free has been brushed aside as naïve and inconsequential, in favor of lobbyists and special interest groups. Well, no longer.
The EFF and a broad coalition of civil society groups called on elected officials to sign the new Declaration of Internet Freedom and uphold basic rights in the digital world. The Declaration is simple; it offers five core principles that should guide any policy relating to the Internet: stand up for online free expression, openness, access, innovation, and privacy. Sign it here.
