Mobile’s Big Challenge for Tech Teams: End Users Do What They Want

We already know that mobile users are different from PC users. But the real challenge might be getting them to play by IT’s rules.

A new study by Forrester Consulting for Unisys  (opens in a new tab) covering the consumerization of IT finds that corporate IT specialists are losing control over the employees they serve, who are quick to defy policies in an effort to work more efficiently.

Examples of these issues in action, according to the study:

• 56 percent of information workers use devices that are unsupported by the network because their jobs don’t provide devices with similar capabilities. They say they need the devices for their jobs. IT executives, however, are more likely to say that those choices are a matter of personal preference.
• 64 percent of information workers are likely to ask friends to solve problems first, rather than reach out to the IT department.
• 82 percent of “mobile elite” employees — a subset of information workers who make particularly intensive use of mobile devices — report that they have installed an unauthorized app on their cell phones, despite three-quarters of IT professionals saying that this would be grounds for dismissal.

All of this leads to the question: Should we hold mobile users to the same security standards as we do PC users? Shoot us your thoughts in the comments.

(TMG archive photo)