In March, then-federal CIO Vivek Kundra spoke about a future where federal employees could forgo a work phone and laptop and fulfill all their job responsibilities using their personal technology. But while this might make life simpler for employees, the consumerization of IT is creating a lot more work for IT professionals, according to a new report.
The report, which is based on a global survey of 741 IT professionals and is sponsored by Dell KACE, found that 87 percent of respondents say employees use personal devices for work, with 80 percent saying employees use smartphones and 69 percent saying employees bring their own PCs to work.
The increase in personal devices used for work weighs on IT professionals, however, with 82 percent noting concerns about the use of personal devices and 62 percent noting concern about network security breaches.
And while many IT offices have policies regarding the use of personal technology for work, many professionals lack the tools to manage these devices effectively, the survey found. While 88 percent believe it is important to have a policy, only 69 percent have one in place. Sixty-two percent of IT pros say they lack the tools and support to manage personal devices.
Among the top devices used by employees were the iPhone (72 percent), Android-based smartphone (63 percent), Windows laptop or desktop (63 percent), iPad (60 percent), and Blackberry (52 percent). E-mail, calendar, phone calls, texting and social media were among the top tasks employees perform on personal devices, the survey found.
The highest adoption rates of personal devices appeared in education. The lowest adoption rates, not surprisingly, were in government and health care, with the survey suggesting a correlation with the level of regulation in those industries.
Do employees at your agency use personal technology for work? Has this created new challenges and workloads for federal IT professionals? What impact would a move to consumerize IT in government, as Kundra has suggested, have on your job and workload?
Brittany Ballenstedt
Brittany Ballenstedt writes Nextgov's Wired Workplace blog, which delves into the issues facing employees who work in the federal information technology sector. Before joining Nextgov, Brittany covered federal pay and benefits issues as a staff correspondent for Government Executive and served as an associate editor for National Journal's Technology Daily. She holds a bachelor's degree in journalism from Mansfield University and originally hails from Pennsylvania. She currently lives near Travis Air Force Base, Calif., where her husband is stationed.
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