Pity the modern CIO who is forced to cut costs, upgrade critical infrastructure and somehow support and secure a myriad of consumer devices that have become as common as paperclips and Post-It notes in the workplace.
As Datamation reports, the vast majority of enterprise IT managers still remain largely in the dark when it comes to ascertaining just how many different consumer devices and websites are used constantly throughout the enterprise every day.
The security implications of these devices cannot be overstated. Between bugs in the operating system software for smartphones to complex phishing and malware scams birthed and proliferated on Facebook and Twitter, CIOs are constantly playing catch up as employees continue to bring more and more devices and risk into the enterprise.
At this rate, IT management experts predict the consumerization of IT will turn existing IT and business models “on their heads” and warn that enterprises would be well-advised to start preparing for this inevitable transition.
Is there a “reality gap” between how many personal devices and unauthorized third-party applications employees use and how many IT thinks they use? A new Unisys-sponsored survey conducted by IDC says the reality gap exists and IT departments would be well-advised to look at ways to close or eliminate it.
The survey of nearly 650 global IT decision-makers showed that organizations frequently are not aware of what technologies their employees are using and how they’re being used. Despite this apparent reality gap, 73 percent of the IT executives surveyed described their networks as very secure. The survey also showed IT is generally not doing much to integrate these consumer technologies — smartphones, social networks, etc. — into their enterprise.
A separate Unisys-sponsored study highlights the challenge IT faces in getting a better handle on the consumerization of IT trend. The study of 2,820 workers in 10 countries found that tech-savvy information workers often blur home and work in their use of consumer devices and Web-based social media applications.