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The consumerisation of IT 25 September 2012 Working from home has a new meaning, with recent research revealing that

t 35 per cent o f people admit that they or their partner work in bed, reports Ralph Adam. This is just one example of how distinctions between home and work have become b lurred. We are encouraged to work from home or at clients' sites to free-up expe nsive city centre office space and have more flexible work patterns. Staff expec t their office equipment to be available at home, yet be able to bring their own items into work and use their familiar social networks and online services. When surveyed, a majority of managers claimed their favourite staff were those w ho could work anywhere, at any time and with their own equipment, suggesting tha t productivity and anywhere-access are more important than improved morale or gi ving younger staff increased responsibility. In effect, workers are subsidising their employers! New terms have entered the business vocabulary to describe this approach: Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) or, more technically, the 'consumerisation' of IT. The ro le of technology within organisations is changing, and rule-making is being tran sferred from IT departments to HR. An unstoppable shift? This change in focus raises important information management issues: for example , who owns mobile services when employees bring in their own devices? Who is res ponsible for insurance and other liabilities? Are businesses expected to supply SIM cards and devise service plans? There are risks involved in moving to BYOD: reputations can be damaged by the di ssemination of confidential information or the inclusion of sensitive metadata i n emails or via mobile phones, while confidential company information can be exp orted either intentionally or by accident. On the other hand, personal informati on may become visible on the company's website. USBs, in particular, pose securi ty problems: they can be stolen, lost, spread viruses or carry malware: we frequ ently hear of organisations being humiliated due to a lost USB stick containing sensitive data. When staff use their own devices at work, how do you check on the (potentially d amaging) files, emails, attachments and other information being imported? If emp loyers require staff to open all their files and reveal passwords (as some do) w hat happens to confidential information? Likewise, does the employee lose person al material about themselves or their families if everything on their device is wiped on leaving the company? What is the right usage of any given application on a mobile device? It might de pend on the individual's role or department, work needs, location at the moment of access and actual device in use at the time. This is a complex mix of busines s and social requirements that need clear policies and suitable tools. Mobile security must be seen to be taken seriously, with both the informational and technical aspects of security fully understood. All too often risk assessmen ts are minimal and user-training insufficient. Even if employees own their devic es, acceptable usage still applies. Staff should know where they stand. It is es sential to have security that is usable, intuitive and makes you do the right th ing. Even if you are working from your bed.

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