Large numbers of employees are circumventing IT, with 40% of workers currently using their personal smartphones for work and 69% claiming their personal tech is better than the options available at work. That's according to the new App Generation report launched by business communications provider Fuze.
The Fuze report, which examines the expectations of technology in the workplace through a survey of 5,000 workers and 2,500 teens across Europe, reveals the extent to which employees are now bringing their own devices, regardless of whether they have been approved by IT.
In addition to using personal mobile phones, 32% of UK workers use personal laptops for work, while 21% provide their own tablet computers.
The same is true of software and applications, with many employees ignoring IT policies and installing personal applications that have not been approved for business use. This includes 32% who are using instant messaging, 25% regularly making video calls and 21% using cloud storage, all without their IT departments' permission.
Commenting on the issue of shadow IT, Luca Lazzaron, Senior VP of International Operations for Fuze, said: "IT departments across Europe are faced with a stark choice, improve business technology or expect to be cut out of the loop.
"Unlike the employees of ten or 15 years ago, App Generation workers are not afraid to adopt their own technology. These are individuals who have grown up surrounded by laptops, iPhones and internet applications and the idea of installing an app to get something done comes naturally. IT departments do not represent security or consistency, they represent slow bureaucracies and unnecessary barriers.
"Businesses need to accept the demands of the workforce are changing. This means providing the latest technologies that ensure young workers, and in fact every employee, can work in the way they want to, but within the safe confines of a secure, managed IT environment. Until this middle ground is achieved, IT departments will continue to be circumvented by the new generation."