Media Release
Sydney, 30 November 2012 – A new report from Ovum, commissioned by international IT solutions and managed services provider Logicalis, shows that employees in developing, fast-growth nations are more willing to embrace the bring-your-own-device (BYOD) phenomenon than those in mature nations, including Australia. The study of 17 markets2 suggests that 79 percent of respondents in the emerging markets (including Brazil, Russia, India, UAE, and Malaysia) use their personal devices to access corporate data enabling them to do their jobs better compared to 54 percent in mature markets (including Japan, Australia, France, Germany, United Kingdom and the United States).
“Employees in emerging economies are demonstrating a more flexible attitude to working hours, and are happy to use their own devices for work,” explains Richard Absalom, consumer impact IT analyst at Ovum. “In mature markets employees have settled into comfortable patterns of working behaviour and are more precious about the separation of their work and personal domains. He says this behaviour will determine which markets, structurally, are going to benefit most from this revolution in how and where we work.”
Ian Ross, Strategic Solutions Director for Logicalis Australia, says the findings don’t mean mature markets have shunned the BYOD opportunity: “Australian businesses are some of the most supportive of BYOD. 61% of BYOD users have been encouraged to do so by their employer, versus 10% who are actively discouraged. With such broad acceptance and Australia’s propensity for technology adoption we see BYOD becoming a much larger piece of the Australian business mobility experience.”
Spain is the notable exception to the trend for lower BYOD adoption in developed nations, with 63 percent of employees bringing their own devices to work – well above the developed market mean. “This could have something to do with the struggling economy: people are willing to use any and all means necessary to get ahead in their jobs, as losing them could be disastrous, given the high rates of unemployment,” suggests Absalom.
Ross suggests that growing economic uncertainty and competition from Asia could see a similar pattern emerge locally, particularly with the growing consumerisation of technology and a generational shift in the workforce. Irrespective, he warns that too much BYOD activity is going unmanaged. “29% of Australian respondents who BYOD claim that their IT department either doesn’t know or ignores it. Even when they do encourage it, many companies simply don’t have the controls or policies in place to manage the business impact and risk.” he says. “The implications of losing sensitive data via a personally owned device can be dire. Every business must understand the behaviour of its own employees and have a strategy and measures in place to minimise the risk and maximise the opportunity.”
Jointly awarded IIAR Global Analyst of the Year 2012, Ovum provides clients with independent and objective analysis that enables them to make better business and technology decisions. Its research draws upon over 400,000 interviews each year with business and technology, telecoms and sourcing decision-makers, giving Ovum and its clients unparalleled insight, not only into business requirements but also the technology that organizations must support. Ovum is an Informa business.
