Companies around the world are increasingly adopting the “Bring Your Own Device” (BYOD) model, a trend which is greatly impacting IT departments and posing security challenges.
According to a study carried out by the Cisco Internet Business Solutions Group (IBSG), 95 per cent of global organisations now allow employees to bring devices such as mobile phones and flash disks to work.
“The study also concluded that the average number of connected devices per knowledge worker is expected to reach 3.3 by 2014, up from an average of 2.8 in 2012. IT managers are balancing security and support concerns with the very real potential to reap significant cost and productivity benefits from the BYOD trend,” read the report.
As more employees use their devices for business as well as their personal lives, issues around the potential loss of company data arise that IT departments may not be able to control.
Cisco said companies will therefore have to ensure that all devices that have a business application are data isolated and well protected.
