18-06-2007
Consumerisation of IT could pose a threat
The progressive consumerisation of information technology could threaten Britain's businesses, it has emerged.
According to Gartner, the security of British firms could become compromised by the progressive use of technology such as personal email services, instant messaging technology and VoIP.
Other technologies such as social networking sites and blogs were also cited.
Indeed, according to Mr Mogull, although allowing employees to utilise their own IT infrastructure or work from a remote location may act to improve their overall productivity, there are associated risks.
"Most organisations will find themselves unable to completely block these services, for cultural, if not technical reasons, but security options are available to limit the risks," said Rich Mogull, research vice president for Gartner.
"Although consumer technologies create new risks for the enterprise, eliminating their use is increasingly difficult and impractical," he added.
Gartner is a consultancy and research firm specialising in the IT sector.
