When Apple launched the iPad in 2010, tablet PC’s emerged as a revolutionary consumer gadget; by 2011 the tablet market was worth US$35.3 billion (£22.5 billion)[1]. The iPad remains dominant in this market, with other tablets such as BlackBerry PlayBook, Samsung Galaxy Tab, HP Touchpad, and Motorola Xoom entering the market with varying degrees of success. There’s no doubt the tablet has become a sought after consumer product, and many expected them to take the enterprise market by storm and become a valuable business tool…but has this actually happened? And if not, why not?

Tablets remain a ‘third’ device

The timing would seem perfect for tablets. An increasingly mobile workforce requires cutting-edge devices to enable them to both work remotely and productively anywhere, at any time, and to serve the needs of their personal lives. Tablets look well positioned to provide exactly that, and yet usage hasn’t spread as quickly through the business world as it has for consumers. But why?

In February 2012, the TechTalk blog highlighted the growing threat to business data security coming from the Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) trend, and the increasing problem of corporate data being downloaded and saved to employee-owned mobile devices. This is a significant problem for many businesses, and one they must address as a matter of urgency. The rising profile of this issue was emphasised at the Mobile World Congress held in Barcelona in March, and at the 2012 RSA conference, where mobile data security and mobile device management was one of the, if not the, key topic.

The trend towards BYOD is irreversible, and the risks are clear

As businesses (in particular, IT departments) come to terms with the exponential growth of BYOD there has been a widespread acceptance that there’s no going back; employee-owned mobile devices are in the workplace to stay.

The growing trend of employees using personal smartphones for work purposes is a headache for IT departments, and a data security nightmare. With an estimated 2.7million personally-owned smartphones in the UK currently containing confidential company and client data it is time for businesses to act.

How well protected is my data?

This is already a question that will be disturbing the sleep patterns of executives and privacy conscious citizens alike. Businesses in a variety of industries depend on data security and the trust of their customers – many of whom are all too aware of the increasing amount of data collected by businesses with each interaction. The results of a recent GfK survey, which found there are approximately 2.7 million personally-owned smartphones in the UK carrying confidential company and client data, are guaranteed to give even the most laissez-faire something to think about in the dark hours.

Synopsis:

While austerity measures in the face of economic uncertainty are curtailing IT spending among small-to-medium businesses (SMBs) in the UK and USA, we still see that many are keen to invest in technology to help develop their businesses. Mobile working solutions and social networking are key emerging technology trends for companies of this size – however, it is evident that not all are aware of the IT security risks presented by adopting such practices.

In 2011, the Average I.T. Security Breach Cost Small-to-Medium Businesses 3-4 Days to Rectify. In partnership with a key client, GfK is conducting ongoing research to understand how the Small-to-Medium Business (SMB) markets in the UK and USA are behaving in terms of their usage and needs of technology and Security Software.
Five key highlights have emerged from this research, carried out in 2011.