South African employees are using their own devices at work – but in many cases their employers haven’t yet implemented security measures.

With the Cisco Visual Networking Index Global Mobile Data Traffic Forecast estimating that there will be 98-million mobile-connected devices in South Africa by 2018, Cisco believes that the country is rapidly approaching the time when nearly every network experience will be a mobile one. One of the key trends resulting from this mobile explosion for enterprises is the growth of the bring your own device (BYOD) trend.

Cisco recently conducted a study among future business leaders in South Africa to understand employee attitudes and behaviours toward the use of different mobile devices within enterprise networks and how organisations in South Africa are managing the impact of BYOD.

According to the research findings, mobile device usage in South African enterprises is high, with half of all employees (average 52%) bring at least one of their own devices to work. In addition, almost two-thirds (63%) of South African employees are allowed to use their own devices to access the company server or network.

However, almost half of South African companies still in the process of working in safeguards against BYOD vulnerability. Just over half (56%) of companies have a plan in place to manage the use of personal devices for work related purposes and nearly one third (30%) are yet to implement a BYOD plan.

The vast majority (87%) of employees are allowed to use company issued computers for their personal reasons; while one-half of companies have “specific restrictions that are clearly communicated to all employees” on this subject.

Three quarters (74%) of employees take network security either “very seriously” or it is “discussed on occasion” to remind employees of the companies policy on this subject – only 5% of respondents reported that network security is a topic that no one is concerned with or never discussed.

Although employees are aware of the general implications of BYOD, a large majority still need to realize the dangers BYOD can cause to an organization. Between six and seven in 10 respondents understood the general issues
surrounding BYOD, 64% of employees don’t realize the dangers of BYOD and only 47% agree that BYOD increases IT costs.

The results show that businesses believe BYOD is continuously growing, making it difficult to manage and bringing with it new security threats. The fact that almost half of South African companies (44%) either do not have a plan in place to manage the use of personal devices for work related purposes or employees were not aware of a plan in place, is a concern as it immediately makes them more susceptible to security threats.

While three quarters (74%) of employees taking network security either “very seriously” or it is “discussed on occasion” to remind employees of the company policy on this subject is a significant development, a quarter of businesses do not take security seriously and 64% of employees don’t realize the dangers of BYOD which is a cause for concern.

Kian Ellens, sales business developer manager at Cisco South Africa, comments: “In this era of the Internet of Everything, South Africans are increasingly expecting to work, communicate and organise their lives from anywhere, using any device so those businesses that don’t adapt risk losing competitiveness, talent and, ultimately, money.

“Our research demonstrates that the biggest challenge South African organisations face today with the BYOD trend is introducing and managing a solid security strategy. As more and more employees are using devices for both personal and business activities, the issues with potential loss of confidential company data increases as IT departments are less in control.

“IT managers need to acknowledge the need for a more holistic approach–one that is scalable and addresses mobility, security governance, virtualization and network policy management; in order to keep management costs in line while simultaneously providing optimal experiences and reaping savings.”

BYOD security lags in SA

South African employees are using devices at work – but in many cases their employers haven’t yet implemented security measures.

With the Cisco Visual Networking Index Global Mobile Data Traffic Forecast estimating that there will be 98-million mobile-connected devices in South Africa by 2018, Cisco believes that the country is rapidly approaching the time when nearly every network experience will be a mobile one. One of the key trends resulting from this mobile explosion for enterprises is the growth of the bring your own device (BYOD) trend.

Cisco recently conducted a study among future business leaders in South Africa to understand employee attitudes and behaviours toward the use of different mobile devices within enterprise networks and how organisations in South Africa are managing the impact of BYOD.

According to the research findings, mobile device usage in South African enterprises is high, with half of all employees (average 52%) bring at least one of their own devices to work. In addition, almost two-thirds (63%) of South African employees are allowed to use their own devices to access the company server or network.

However, almost half of South African companies still in the process of working in safeguards against BYOD vulnerability. Just over half (56%) of companies have a plan in place to manage the use of personal devices for work related purposes and nearly one third (30%) are yet to implement a BYOD plan.

The vast majority (87%) of employees are allowed to use company issued computers for their personal reasons; while one-half of companies have “specific restrictions that are clearly communicated to all employees” on this subject.

Three quarters (74%) of employees take network security either “very seriously” or it is “discussed on occasion” to remind employees of the companies policy on this subject – only 5% of respondents reported that network security is a topic that no one is concerned with or never discussed.

Although employees are aware of the general implications of BYOD, a large majority still need to realize the dangers BYOD can cause to an organization. Between six and seven in 10 respondents understood the general issues
surrounding BYOD, 64% of employees don’t realize the dangers of BYOD and only 47% agree that BYOD increases IT costs.

The results show that businesses believe BYOD is continuously growing, making it difficult to manage and bringing with it new security threats. The fact that almost half of South African companies (44%) either do not have a plan in place to manage the use of personal devices for work related purposes or employees were not aware of a plan in place, is a concern as it immediately makes them more susceptible to security threats.

While three quarters (74%) of employees taking network security either “very seriously” or it is “discussed on occasion” to remind employees of the company policy on this subject is a significant development, a quarter of businesses do not take security seriously and 64% of employees don’t realize the dangers of BYOD which is a cause for concern.

Kian Ellens, sales business developer manager at Cisco South Africa, comments: “In this era of the Internet of Everything, South Africans are increasingly expecting to work, communicate and organise their lives from anywhere, using any device so those businesses that don’t adapt risk losing competitiveness, talent and, ultimately, money.

“Our research demonstrates that the biggest challenge South African organisations face today with the BYOD trend is introducing and managing a solid security strategy. As more and more employees are using devices for both personal and business activities, the issues with potential loss of confidential company data increases as IT departments are less in control.

“IT managers need to acknowledge the need for a more holistic approach–one that is scalable and addresses mobility, security governance, virtualization and network policy management; in order to keep management costs in line while simultaneously providing optimal experiences and reaping savings.”