While the bring-your-own-device (BYOD) movement is in full swing, immature policies are putting sensitive organization and employee data at risk, according to a new survey.
The study, conducted on behalf of TEKsystems Mobility and TEKsystems Network Services, found that more than half of IT leaders and 65 percent of IT professionals report that their employers fall within one of three extremes regarding their BYOD policy: either “nothing has been communicated,” “there are no official policy guidelines” or “employees are not allowed to use their own devices at work.”
Among the organizations that have some form of BYOD policy in place, only half of IT leaders (48%) and just a third of IT professionals (35%) believe the policy is crystal clear.
“Organizations have an obligation to protect sensitive data pertaining to their clients and employees,” says TEKsystems research manager, Jason Hayman. “Without formal BYOD plans in place and consistent execution, organizations leave themselves exposed. Additionally, they may be failing to capitalize on the potential benefits of BYOD, including increases in productivity and collaboration.”
Nearly half of both IT leaders and IT professionals believe their organizations are either achieving middle-of-the-road effectiveness or are completely ineffective across a variety of factors.
Responses indicate the main value proposition of BYOD to date has been employee satisfaction with 57 percent of IT leaders and 55 percent of IT professionals citing BYOD as improving employee satisfaction by offering greater freedom of choice. IT leaders and IT professionals say their organizations are not effective in achieving BYOD’s promise of higher customer satisfaction (60% and 56% respectively) and lower IT expenses (62% and 58% respectively).
Seventy-three percent of IT leaders and IT professionals believe that sensitive company data is at risk due to employees accessing information from their personal devices; approximately half feel that 25 percent or more of their companies’ sensitive data is exposed.
Among the other findings, 33 percent of IT leaders and 46 percent of IT professionals confirm that their organizations do not have the capability to remotely wipe data off employee devices if necessary. And, approximately a third (35%) of IT leaders and a quarter of IT professionals are not confident their organizations are compliant with government mandates.
