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Topic: IT Employment

Forrester: 53% of employees use their own devices for work

Summary: Forrester predicts that within 36 months, bringing personal devices to work will become standard policy and a requirement for new hires.

Rachel King

By for Between the Lines |

BYOD is here, and there is no getting around it -- no matter how much IT departments might be afraid of it.

That's clearly the case, especially after a new report from Forrester Research this week, which found that overall 53 percent of employees are using their own technology for work purposes -- a five percent increase from last year. That might not seem like much, but it's really just the beginning.

Forrester argues that this trend is pretty much irreversible at this point. Funny enough, they point to senior executives as the primary culprits leading the way, probably to the chagrin of most IT managers trying to figure out how to manage all of these extra devices on different platforms securely on one network. Forrester found that 77 percent of executives buy their own hardware and 45 percent do the same for software.

Furthermore, Forrester predicts that within 36 months, most companies will just get over BYOT (bring-your-own-technology) frustrations and accept it -- to the point where it will become standard policy and a requirement for new hires.

Historically, workers have paid out of pocket for training, conferences, and additional education to help them in their jobs and elevate their career status — occasionally sharing those costs or getting reimbursed by their employers. The BYOT trend is following a similar pattern. Increasingly, employees are making their own technology purchases for a blend of personal and work use and pushing their firms to purchase new technology to help in their jobs.

For reference, the report is based on Forrester’s Forrsights Workforce Employee Survey conducted during the fourth quarter of 2011. Researchers polled 9,912 information workers in Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, the Philippines, Russia, Singapore, the UK, and the US from SMB and enterprise companies with 20 or more employees.

Graph via Forrester Research

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Topic: IT Employment

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23 comments
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  • 53% of employees use their own devices for work

    The 53% of employees that use their own devices for work are 100% dumb!
    mgdvt
    Reply Vote

    • Depends on the definition of "use for work"

      You get a work related call, that is considered "use for work".
      You do a little web research on a work related issue, that is also "work"

      I don't think the 53% who said yes is claiming that they use their personal devices "mostly" for work.
      wackoae
      Reply Vote

  • Tax deductible?

    Just like other tools?
    Bill4
    Reply Vote

    • proof

      Just like home offices you'd need an exhaustive paper trail. Simpler for individual voice calls than web research or connecting to your employer's servers.
      hrlngrv 
      Reply Vote

    • Yeah.. 33% of purchase price the first year, and 50% of the remaining..

      Yeah.. 33% of purchase price the first year, and 50% of the remaining the following year. So, I spend 1k.. 1st year I get to claim $333 deduction, same in second year.. Not enough to get crazy good equipment, but still it helps. Keep receipts, and give to your tax guy each year. You can write off internet, software, and other junk too if you use it for work 1/2 or more .. never had a audit so far..have claimed these things for years.
      WareWolf801
      Reply Vote

  • You Should Provide the Source (and more detail) for Your Headline

    You provide different info, but no backing for your headline. I'd be interested who those 53% are - telecommuters or corporate employees that spend the majority of their workday at a job site? Are these 53% primary use or some use? How many of them merely use their phone for business purposes, and how many have no computer provided by their employer? Without more detail, 53% may mean a lot, or very little.
    WebSiteManager
    Reply Vote

    • It could also mean ....

      ... that at one time or another, they did something work related on their personal devices.

      Like you said, the numbers mean nothing without the details.
      wackoae
      Reply Vote

  • Am I in the 53% or 47%?

    I use my own smartphone for work purposes. To do so I was required to install a policy app that gives my employer the right to nuke it from orbit should it get lost or I separate from the company. I could have used a corporate device instead, but I did not wish to carry two devices with me since personal use would be prohibited from a corporate device.

    Computers and tablets are categorically not allowed on the corporate network, not even via VPN. Phones cannot be connect to the corporate wifi network.

    So where would I fit into this? A simple percentage doesn't tell much of a story in of itself, does it?
    jvitous
    Reply Vote

  • Staycations for ALL

    Lol....I have a solution for the nervous IT'ers: Let us all work from Home. If we're all using our own networks and devices, and with video conferencing etc. available, think of how much overhead could be cut by doing everything online. It's gonna happen I tell you....please....please let it happen soon!
    James Keenan
    Reply Vote

    • Agreed

      How cool would it be to just get up and not have to deal with getting dressed, traffic, being on time. Just get up and do your job, mine would allow that.
      Imagine the saving in money and your sanity would be way better not having to deal with idiots on your daily commute.

      Just about the best idea ever!
      Dougvbx
      Reply Vote

    • It isn't going to happen

      because companies buy/lease offices and buildings for a reason - to use them. If you think the day is coming anytime soon, where we will all just work from home you are dreaming.

      You think your employer is going to pay heat, light and telecoms for a bunch of ghost workers? Where is the cost benefit in that? Everyone is shouting about BYOD being the saviour of budgets, but the reality is most companies drop more on per employee on dining, flights, fun days and taxis, than they do on IT equipment. A computer and a phone are nothing in the grand scheme of things.

      Sounds like a good idea in theory, but to be honest, although I would like the flexibility, there is something to be said for having a seperate work location.
      12312332123
      Reply Vote

    • The problem with that...

      is what do you do if you have issues with your connection or equipment at home? You'll be expecting a corporate IT guy at your house to fix your issues. Not gonna happen anytime soon, unless technology in general becomes a lot more reliable.
      kstap
      Reply Vote

  • Not going to happen

    It is an unreasonable request for an employer to require you to use your own personal phone that they have the right to brick when they terminate you or you leave. You'll find that few corporations will allow their employees to even use their devices if they wanted to and the ones that allow it have 'brick on exit' enabled as well as the corporate spyware.

    If they want me to be able to check office email remotely, they'll provide a device for that. What is next - bring your own servers to run? Bring your own desk, buy your own paper, furnish your own chair - oh.. and we get to keep everything in it when you leave.
    fireman949
    Reply Vote

  • BYOT - Probably not

    Consider the percentage of employees working as consultants to federal gov't departments. Their employers will insist on the use of proprietary equipment, adherence to security requirements, document and code versioning controls, completely vetted software (usually several years old, but has passed acceptance testing), and in many cases, leaving cell-phones and other toys at the front security desk. BYOT? Not anytime soon.
    Northern Lite
    Reply Vote

    • Agree

      As a recent retire from a naval shipyard, there are severe restrictions on what one can bring on site. It is difficult to find a cell phone that is permitted as no cameras are allowed. If a phone has one, it must be permanently disabled. Other features are also prohibited. No privately owned equipment is allowed to be connected to the network. If caught in violation of the IT security regulations it is immediate termination. It is a hassle for outside contractors to get clearance for there computer equipment.
      dmerson@...
      Reply Vote

    • Same where I work

      All computing devices must be company owned/provided.

      Sure, maybe the bigshots get to skirt these requirements but not cube dwellers.

      I think this BYOD stuff is mostly blogger hype.
      otaddy
      Reply Vote

  • This article is total and complete rubbish..

    Wherever they got this 'research', it is FALSE. Corporations RARELY allow personal devices on their corporate networks. Dangers abound when this IS allowed.. VPN's make this even less likely, as it tethers the two pc's and could be used to infect work networks with malware, spyware, virus's, as well as subjecting the work network to possibly exploited machines. Total bullshit, is what this article is.
    WareWolf801
    Reply Vote

    • We just opened up the floodgates...

      for about 10,000 employees to start using their own devices if they want to. The only platform that is forbidden is Android.
      kstap
      Reply Vote

  • Monitors

    Most of the people in my office brought in our own 24 or 27 inch moniters. The company-provided monitor is useful as a secondary monitor.
    SilkyPaws
    Reply Vote

  • BYOD and MAM

    Rachel, I agree with you that BYOD is here to stay and the report issued by Forrester only proves that the trend is growing. From what we???ve found working with our customers is employees will work around IT???s rules and make BYOD a reality regardless. This further fuels the need to put solutions in place to manage applications and devices. There is a way to create harmony between the IT departments and employees that bring their own devices to work. That harmony comes with an effective mobile application management solution in place. In this scenario only the companies data and assets are managed and secured, while leaving the personal information on the device untouched. It???s time to find a MAM solution now, the clock is ticking.
    David Baeza
    Reply Vote
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