62% of U.S. SMBs Have Official BYOD Policy—iGR Says
62% of U.S. SMBs Have Official BYOD Policy—iGR Says by UCStrategies Staff
iGR conducted a survey of IT managers at small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) in the United States and found that nearly 62 percent of employees reported that an official BYOD policy was being enforced in their company.
Moreover, 73 percent of employees said that their company “unofficially” allows them to use personal devices to perform work-related tasks – meaning the company knows that its employees use their own devices in the workplace but has neither officially permitted nor prohibited the BYOD practice.
iGR, a firm offering market strategy consultancy on the wireless and mobile communications industry, released the results of its February 2013 survey in a market research report entitled “SMBs: The Ongoing BYOD Trend.” The study gives an indication of the U.S. SMBs’ adoption of BYOD policies and serves as an update to the 2012 report by iGR on the same subject.
“Rather than reaching saturation, our survey results show that the number of employees who bring their own devices has grown significantly since 2012,” said Iain Gillott, president and founder of iGR, in a prepared statement. “There continue to be opportunities for BYOD solutions and strategies in this market. We found that the Bring Your Own Device trend is growing for tablets, as well as smartphones.”
iGR’s new market research report also claims to address the following issues: the characteristics of SMBs that have (or do not have) official BYOD policies in place, the personal devices officially allowed to be used in the workplace, the smartphone platforms and service providers which are officially authorized for use in the workplace, the percentage of employees who use their personal mobile devices, and whether or not IT provides support for such personal devices.
Meanwhile, Intel expanded its successful BYOD program. Recent BYOD-related studies include Booz Allen Hamilton and Frost & Sullivan’s research on BYOD, cloud adoption, social media, and software development as factors bolstering the demand for IT security professionals and iPass and MobileIron’s research on BYOD’s dramatic impact on IT departments and rising mobility costs. (KOM) Link. Link.