IT consumerisation ‘overhyped’

Despite the current hot topic of BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) within organisations, more than three quarters of IT directors believe the consumerisation of IT has been ‘overhyped’, according to recent research by VAR Damovo.

Respondents  pointed the finger at IT vendors, which they felt were responsible for  much of the hype. However, the majority (68 percent) did admit the increased use of smartphones and tablets was causing them to worry about the security of their organisation’s ICT.

“The accelerated pace of this trend; the recent leap forward for workforce mobility; and the rapid advances in tablet and smartphone technology over the past few years; have raised awareness of the issue,” explains Glyn Owen, portfolio manager, Damovo UK.

“However, the trend of bringing personal devices into the workplace has heightened security concerns, with the potential to bypass firewalls and create a potential bridge between the corporate network and the internet. Therefore organisations need better visibility over what devices are on their network, as well as the ability to enforce new security policies.”

The survey also asked IT directors what their priorities were for 2012. Future-proofing and updating their network infrastructure (32 percent), moving applications and services to the cloud (27 percent) and securing/managing employees’ mobile devices (18 percent) were seen as highest on their agenda for 2012, further indicating the growing shift towards greater workforce mobility. Lesser priorities for 2012 were virtualising server estates (14 percent) and enabling multi-channel communications between employees and customers.

 The survey of 100 IT directors at UK organisations across multiple business sectors and with more than 1,000 employees was commissioned by Damovo UK and conducted by research company Vanson Bourne.