Perry Hutton (image supplied).
The trend of “Bring Your Own Device” (BYOD) has been as profound as it has been rapid, but it is fast blurring the line between personal and work life, according to Perry Hutton, regional director of Africa at Fortinet.
HumanIPO reported last month companies around the world are adopting the BYOD trend, which is impacting the IT industry and posing security challenges.
“At the very heart of this evolution is the ability to access enterprise networks from anywhere, anytime. The range of tools which enable this constant connectivity are becoming more powerful all the time, with laptops, tablets and smartphones allowing access to a range of communications and business applications,” said Hutton.
Hutton said it is believed by many that BYOD allows for greater productivity, but recent research indicates this could be BYOD’s greatest myth.
This is because BYOD in practice creates more challenges than benefits if the organisation allowing this trend does not address it properly.
“A worldwide survey commissioned by Fortinet, conducted in 15 countries, focused on graduate twenty-something employees. This group represents the first generation to enter the workspace with an understanding and expectation of own-device use. They also represent tomorrow’s influencers and decision makers,” said Hutton.
Hutton added: “Crucially, within this younger employee goup, BYOD is predominantly considered a right rather than a privilege, with over half (55 per cent) of people sharing an expectation that they should be allowed to use their own devices in the workplace or for work purposes.”
According to Hutton, this expectation poses the risk of employees ignoring company policy banning the use of their own devices.
The survey indicated 36 per cent of the polled people admitted to contravening, or thinking of contravening, company policy against using their own devices.
Furthermore, the survey indicates the real reason behind why people want to use their own devices is they want to be able to access their favourite applications. 33 per cent admitted to this while 26 per cent stated their efficiency as the reason for wanting to use their own devices.
Forty-six per cent of the people polled said timewasting was the greatest threat to their organisation, 42 per cent said the greater threat of BYOD is exposure to malicious IT, theft and loss of confidential data.
However, only 26 per cent believe BYOD risks outweigh the benefits.
“BYOD is here to stay. While the Fortinet survey balances the widely held belief that BYOD is mostly beneficial to business by highlighting some key security challenges, it also shows that organisations must address the issue at the earliest stage,” said Hutton.
“The reality is that technology consumerism is invading the workplace, but the organisation cannot simply afford to stand back and let users have their way.”
