TEKsystems Survey Reveals Companies Becoming Lax in Managing BYOD Risk

Sep 23, 2014 | HANOVER, MD | For media inquiries, please contact us at media@TEKsystems.com.

Hanover, Md. – September 23, 2014 – TEKsystems^®, a leading provider of IT staffing solutions, IT talent management expertise and IT services, today released the results of a new study that exposes the current state of corporate Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) management as well as the impact mobile technology has on IT professionals’ work lives.

The survey represents the views of more than 300 IT professionals in North America. Key findings include:

Download a pdf of the full results here.

BYOD Risk Remains, Yet Management Wanes

Exposure to risk is as much of a threat today as it was in 2013; however, organizations have become less diligent in BYOD management and mitigation.

• Seventy-two percent of IT professionals believe that sensitive company data is at risk due to employees accessing information from personal devices; this represents only a one percent drop from what was reported in the TEKsystems 2013 BYOD Study.
• Nearly two-thirds of respondents (64 percent) state that either no official BYOD policy exists at their organizations and/or nothing at all has been communicated about BYOD. This has increased by 21 percent from 2013, when 43 percent identified the same lack of guidelines and best practices.

Mobility–A Blessing and a Curse

Despite the fact that mobile devices provide IT professionals with greater flexibility, they also heighten stress and extend the workday.

• Half of respondents say the ability to access work (e.g., applications, documents, email) via a mobile device has increased stress because they are never able to disconnect. Only 28 percent feel it lessens stress and 22 percent report it has no impact on stress.
• Almost two-thirds (61 percent) of all respondents disclose that if they had their choice, they would prefer to work in yesterday’s world where they would be inaccessible outside of business hours.

No Choice but to Embrace Mobility; Many Suffer from Obsessive Connectedness

Although the majority of respondents would like to be able to disconnect, they acknowledge that mobility gives them greater control over their work life. For many, there is also a sense of urgency about being connected.

• Sixty percent of respondents indicate mobility gives them greater control over their work life, while 28 percent indicate it gives the employer more control. 
• Forty-two percent of respondents admit that even during off hours, if their smartphone lost the ability to connect to work, they would alert IT to the problem within one hour.
• When asked about their morning routine, 28 percent of IT professionals confess that the first thing they do when they wake up is check their mobile device—even before using the bathroom.

Laptop Is Still King

Although it seems smart devices are gaining traction as the favored communication method, when it comes to core work activities, the laptop is still the preferred device.

• IT professionals report that the time they spend working on various devices during a typical business day (laptop 67 percent, smartphone 25 percent, tablet 8 percent) is nearly identical to the time spent working on those devices after-hours (laptop 61 percent, smartphone 31 percent, tablet 8 percent).
• Sixty-one percent of respondents say that if they had to pick only one device to access work after-hours for the period of one week, they would choose their laptop.

“The growing deficiency of BYOD policy and management uncovered in this snapshot is astonishing, especially given the heightened threats of cybercrime and mobile security attacks,” says Jason Hayman, TEKsystems market research manager. “The degree of exposure to risk is amplified by the fact that IT professionals and other employees are always connected, working from multiple devices from just about any location. These findings suggest that companies have either become completely overwhelmed by the process of instituting and upholding BYOD controls, don’t feel that there is a legitimate threat, or have made the dangerous assumption that their tech-savvy workforce doesn’t need direction regarding safe use of personal devices.”

TEKsystems’ Jason Hayman is available for additional commentary. For more information about the survey or to schedule an interview, please contact Rick McLaughlin (TEKsystems@daviesmurphy.com).

About TEKsystems

People are at the heart of every successful business initiative. At TEKsystems, an Allegis Group company, we understand people. Every year we deploy more than 80,000 IT professionals at 6,000 client sites across North America, Europe and Asia. Our deep insights into IT human capital management enable us to help our clients achieve their business goals–while optimizing their IT workforce strategies. We provide IT staffing solutions and IT services to help our clients plan, build and run their critical business initiatives. Through our range of quality-focused delivery models, we meet our clients where they are, and take them where they want to go, the way they want to get there.