BYOT - Personnel with personal tech

Consumerisation of IT is more than just letting employees use smartphones or tablets at work – a trend now known as BYOT or “Bring Your Own Technology”. Consumerisation also includes the use of applications such as Facebook, Twitter, Wikipedia, blogs and other social media in the workplace for communicating and collaborating with colleagues, partners and customers. This is undergoing tremendous change in not just the type of technology used, but also how it is procured, secured and supported.

Charting growth

The Unisys Consumerisation of IT study, conducted by IDC, looked at the trend from the point of view of both employees and employers from large organisations (94 per cent of companies had more than 1,000 employees globally). It is based on two separate but related surveys across nine countries. One surveyed more than 2,600 employees and the other polled more than 560 executives and managers.

The Unisys Consumerisation of IT study found that employers recognise the potential of consumerisation. They appreciate that it can increase employee productivity and satisfaction and create more efficient business processes and innovative new business models. Employers are aware also of the risks of allowing consumer-style technologies into their IT infrastructure but many are yet to take steps to proactively manage the phenomenon in their workplace. Perhaps, they simply don't know where to start.

Dicey demarcations

The barrier between business and personal activity is blurring quickly as new personal devices enter the market every week and new applications replace old enterprise technology. The allure of mobility and flexibility offered by these devices reflect in the research results: 29 per cent of employees globally, reply to work-related emails, FB posts or tweets in bed, 49 per cent while on vacation, 19 per cent while driving a car and 5 per cent even at a place of worship!

India is no stranger to this trend. Analysys Mason, a UK global telecom and media advisor firm, projects the number of mobile social network users to reach around 72 million by 2014 in the country. 90 per cent of Indian employees operate separate accounts on social platforms like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc. Of these, 81 per cent use it for professional purposes.

A Ma Foi Randstad survey points out that 82 per cent of Indian employees rely on social media to find a new job more efficiently than traditional ways.

The consumerisation gap

The Unisys study also found a wide gap between the technology employees use for work and the technology employers believe is being used. 40 per cent of the devices used to access business applications are now personally owned – up by 10 per cent in just one year. 69 per cent employees admit to using smartphones and tablets for business purposes. This is twice the rate that employers believe is the case (34 per cent).

Get social

The role of social media in the workplace has also become more prominent. In 2011, 17 per cent of employees surveyed from all over the world were found to be using blogs, online forums and message boards for business use. 12 per cent use Twitter and other microblogs whereas 19 per cent use LinkedIn or similar professional networking sites. Social web sites such as Facebook, MySpace etc see at least 16 per cent of employees logging in for work purposes. A Workmonitor survey states that 87 per cent of employees in India use social media to look into an organisation's work culture and 75 per cent track movements and events of their favourite companies online.

However, despite the increasing use of mobile devices applications, a few organisations are yet to develop or modify applications for employees or customers to use on mobile devices. Some organisations still do not have guidelines and policies in place to govern the use of mobile devices and social media in the workplace.

Apt apps

To make mobile devices truly useful business tools, employers need to allow strategic corporate applications (and not just emails) to run on personal devices. They need to modernise and integrate corporate apps and consider how the ‘Cloud' can help deliver information to these devices instantly and securely. They also need to look at how social media apps can be integrated into existing enterprise applications.

Security concerns

The use of consumer-style devices and applications in the enterprise can result in increased security risks if they are not managed appropriately. The call for action is clear. Enterprise IT departments need to pick up the pace in deployment and support for new technology, harness the power of applications, and safeguard it well.

If organisations are not aware of the technology being used in their workplace and how their IT infrastructure is being used, they risk not having appropriate security measures in place and not being able to provide adequate IT support for employees. There may also be legal issues arising with regards to employers' rights to access business data on employee-owned devices and HR issues arising with regards to employees' appropriate use of these technologies.

It is important that employers get a lay of the land – find out what technologies are being used, and what employees want to use in order to be more productive. Evaluate both of those from the technology and people perspectives. Then, go on to determine what technology would make the different roles in the workforce more productive. Work out how the organisation can support the usage of the technology – the wider the range of technologies requiring support, the greater the strain on the IT department.

Consider new support models such as access to self-service portals, using social media such as instant messengers and chat rooms to connect users with the help desk, and provide remote delivery and support of device images and applications. Also, consider that managed service providers can provide faster support for a greater variety of devices and applications than most in-house IT departments.

From the people perspective, it is important to ensure that corporate policies cover warranties and insurance for employee-owned devices. The company's rules with regards to access and sharing of company data and IT security requirements also need to be laid out well. The IT infrastructure should provide security, reliability, and scalability, in addition to policy guidelines. There is also a need for deployment tools and training to allow end users to take advantage of these new devices without unduly straining the organization's IT resources.

Consumerisation of IT is full of challenges for any organisation. Those who embrace the challenge by seizing the opportunity of increased productivity not only help increase innovation in the workplace but will also reap a more loyal and satisfied employee base and customers.

(The author is Managing Director, Unisys India.)

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