Majority of companies allow personal gadgets
(MoneyWatch) There was a time when corporate IT departments locked down the allowable tech to a desktop or laptop -- company issued -- and tightly controlled what software could be installed. Those days are becoming a thing of the past, like dial tones and snail mail.
According to a new study from Computing Technology Industry Association (CompTIA), an IT-industry trade organization, more than half of the surveyed businesses now allow -- or even require -- the use of employee-owned mobile devices. In other words, Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) is here.
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The survey reached out to 500 businesses and reflects the most recent thinking about the use of personal devices in the workplace to date -- the study was conducted just two months ago. Some of the findings:
- A third of businesses provide the allowable devices and don't permit employees to bring their own into the workplace.
- About 58 percent of respondents allow a mix of corporate and employee-owned devices.
- About 12 percent appear to have taken the "throw your hands up in the air" approach to management: They allow BYOD because it's simply too difficult to prevent it.
Despite some companies' choosing BYOD to reduce friction, a majority cited allowing personal devices because it improved employee productivity. Nonetheless, companies have a long way to go in efforts to standardize and create best practices: According to CompTIA, a mere 24 percent of companies have actually established a mobile device policy.
Dave Johnson
View all articles by Dave Johnson on CBS MoneyWatch »
Dave Johnson is editor of eHow Tech and author of three dozen books, including the best-selling How to Do Everything with Your Digital Camera. Dave has previously worked at Microsoft and has written about technology for a long list of magazines that include PC World and Wired.
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