Over 80 per cent of IT managers think that enterprises with a Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) policy hold a competitive advantage over other organisations.

This is according to research commissioned by BT, which surveyed 2,000 IT users and IT managers in 11 countries, from a range of sectors. It suggests that BYOD has arrived – over four in five companies say they already allow BYOD or will do within the next 24 months and 60 per cent of employees claim they are already allowed to connect personally-owned devices to the corporate network. 

The study revealed that both employees and decision makers are positive about the opportunities presented by BYOD. Sixty four per cent of IT managers think that having a BYOD policy will enable employees to be more productive. Forty eight per cent think it will also allow employees to work more flexibly and 47 per cent think it will enable employees to serve customers better. This sentiment is shared by employees: 42 per cent of employees using their own device for work believe that they are more efficient and productive as a result.

Despite these benefits IT managers are nervous. Only one in ten think that all BYOD users recognise the risks and less than one in five believe all users understand the access/permissions related to their mobile devices.

It appears IT managers are nervous with some justification. Of employees who use their own device for work, one in three see “no risk” in using their own device in a work context and just a quarter recognise the significant risk they pose to company security. 

“There is no denying it, the BYOD genie is out of the bottle bringing with it unprecedented opportunities for enterprises but also new threats,” says Neil Sutton, vice president, Global Portfolio at BT Global Services. 

“To meet these challenges head-on, enterprises need to have a clear policy, a combination of the right tools to implement it, the trust with which to deliver it to employees and the processes in the business that everyone understands and buys into. IT security has always been about a blend of people, policy, process and technology, and the right blend is even more critical in a BYOD world. Rather than being perceived as a barrier to agility or flexibility, security can act as an enabler which improves an organisation’s ability to adapt to the BYOD trend.”