Bangalore: New research from Unisys Corporation conducted by Forrester Consulting reveals a deepening divide between increasingly mobile information workers and the enterprise IT departments that support them.

The third-annual Unisys consumerization of IT survey, conducted by Forrester, shows that this divide is being driven by a class of super-connected, tech-savvy mobile workers who are defying IT policies by using unsupported, “bring your own” devices and applications to get work done and serve customers on the front lines of business.

These “mobile elite” workers, while pushing the envelope of innovation and change within their organizations, are creating fresh support and security challenges for their IT departments, which often have a different view of how and where personally owned technologies are being used.

“This year’s research shows that the consumerization charge is being led by an elite group of highly connected mobile workers who are using the latest technologies to better serve customers and help their organizations succeed – regardless of whether those technologies are officially supported and sanctioned,” said Fred Dillman, Unisys chief technology officer.

“Rather than fighting this trend, we believe CIOs and IT decision makers should study the behavior of these mobile elite workers in order to understand which approaches provide real innovation and differentiation for their organizations, and then craft their mobile infrastructures to safely support these activities,” Dillman said.

Widening Gap between Information Workers and IT Organizations

The 2012 research is based on responses from two separate but related surveys conducted in nine countries. One study surveyed some 2,600 information workers (iWorkers) within organizations to gauge their use of consumer technologies in the workplace. The second study polled 590 business and IT executives to better understand their views and support of these technologies.

Mobile Elite Workers Are Setting the Pace in Consumerization

The new research shows the extent to which the consumerization trend is being driven by a select group of highly connected employees that Unisys terms the “mobile elite.”

These individuals, comprising 23 percent of the total iWorker respondents, are those who make intensive use of multiple personally owned devices and applications to get work done.

Mobile Workers Creating New Risks for Their Organizations

In their zeal to be more productive and service-centric, mobile elite workers – whether intentionally or not – may be opening up new management, support and security risks for their organizations. 

Mobile elite workers are more than three times as likely as average iWorkers to download unauthorized applications to get work done. In fact, 82 percent of mobile elite workers report having done this, despite the fact that 75 percent of IT decision makers say they consider downloading unauthorized software for work as grounds for dismissal.