International

IT consumerization rising faster in emerging markets (survey)

Reality bites: IT departments need to grapple with consumer technology proliferating in the workplace, according to new research.

Written by Rachel King, Contributor on Dec. 12, 2011

If there weren't already enough studies, surveys, and experts to inform us, yet another report has been published arguing that the rising use of consumer technology in the workplace is a big issue for IT departments.

This time the news is from Accenture, but there are a few new points of interest worth covering.

Here are some of the major highlights from the survey, by the numbers:

45 percent of the employees surveyed replied that personal consumer devices and software applications are more useful than the tools and applications provided by their IT departments.
43 percent of respondents revealed that they feel comfortable and capable of making their own technology decisions for work, pointing towards a "technological empowerment movement."
27 percent said that they would even be willing to pay for their own devices and applications to use at work.
At the same time, while more executives recognize the adoption of consumer technologies in the workforce as a strategic issue, only 27 percent have started to address the issue in a structured way.
Despite employers’ concerns around data security and IT protocol, 23 percent of employees worldwide regularly use personal consumer devices and applications anyway for work-related activities.

Geographically, the survey found that there is a greater adoption of consumer IT within organizations located in emerging markets such as Brazil, China, India and Mexico rather than in developed markets. Rates for adoption of this trend were well above 40 percent in India and China. The worldwide average was 23 percent for consumer devices.

For reference, the results are based upon the responses from more than 4,000 participants (employees and executives) across 16 countries and five continents.