Intel employees prefer to choose their own devices

The vast majority of employees would rather choose their own enterprise device than bring their own device to work, according to an internal study by Intel.

In a survey of 2,545 employees by Intel IT, 72 percent said that they would be interested in BYOD (bring your own device) only if Intel contributed to the cost. Meanwhile, just four percent said they would prefer to bring their own computer to work, whether or not Intel pays for it.

“Employees today aren't making the preference around OS, but they are very much wanting to see more consumer-type operating systems,” said Stuart Dommett, business development manager at Intel. “They're looking much more for Intel IT to provide them with something that meets those expectations, but is managed and provided to them.”

The survey also found that the greatest perceived benefit of BYOD is the fact that there is a faster refresh cycle, so employees can upgrade to the lastest systems more quickly.

Other benefits cited included more choice than IT normally offers, the ability to choose a specific brand and the ability to have one machine for both home and work use.

However, Dommett highlighted that tension still remains between users and IT departments. End users want freedom and flexibility, whereas the IT professionals want controlled network access, guaranteed data security and predictable configurations.

“We have to recognise that consumer class devices don't always provide the best connectivity,” he said. “It has to be robust. It's about making it connect and work with the existing infrastructure.”

Intel's figures back up findings by Vodafone Global Enterprise, that some organisations are now adopting a “choose-your-own-device” (CYOD) strategy, meaning that the company supports a limited range of devices and employees can make a choice from within that catalogue.

According to IDC analyst Mike Cansfield, many people are still very distrustful of BYOD, because they do not want business to encroach on their personal lives. This is particularly true among older employees, who are less attuned to new flexible and collaborative ways of working.

Data released recently by Zscaler ThreatlabZ, the research arm of SaaS security provider Zscaler, revealed that Apple iOS has surpassed Google Android in BYOD enterprise usage, due in part to rising consumer use of iPhones and iPads