The majority of global workers are going rogue with work devices,
software and applications despite being aware of the potential business
risks involved, according to new research released by Snow
Software, the global leader in technology intelligence solutions.
The study, which polled 3,000 professionals in the United States, Europe
and Asia Pacific, finds stark
contrasts between the mindset of today’s workers and the priorities of
IT leaders. This rift was especially notable in younger employees,
who represent the future of the workforce. In fact, millennials
are almost twice as likely to go behind IT’s back compared to older
workers, with 81% admitting they have used or accessed something on
their work device without permission versus just 51% of baby boomers who
have done the same.
“There is a tectonic shift happening in the enterprise, driven by a
rapid move to the cloud and nearly unlimited access to technology,” said
Vishal Rao, President & Chief Executive Officer at Snow. “Part of what
we see in this data is a philosophical evolution in what the future of
work looks like. The CIO and their teams are now strategic business
partners with the power to fundamentally change their organizations.
That new role requires empowering a new generation of employees and
enabling the business to be as effective as possible while also
balancing financial, regulatory and compliance risks.”
When it comes to unsanctioned device behavior, many workers are breaking
the rules in an effort to get their job done – 41% of global employees
report using professional software or applications on their work device
without IT’s permission. That makes it the second most common
infraction, behind the 46% who access personal documents but ahead of
other popular personal content like apps, music, videos and photos. When
asked about the impact of needing IT’s permission to get software or
applications to do their job, 40% of workers reported that they feel
watched, 32% said that it slowed them down and impacted deadlines, 27%
said it was frustrating and 26% felt it negatively impacted productivity.
As one manager put it, while it wasn’t the case for them, needing IT’s
permission to get work software and applications “would definitely make
me feel all of the above. I would also feel that the business was
micromanaged, that they didn’t really respect or appreciate their
associates and that they need to get up to speed with the direction that
businesses are moving in.”
Additional key findings include:
-
When it came to generational differences in work device behavior, the
biggest disparity was in software and applications – in the millennial
age group, 47% reported accessing work apps and 46% admitted to
accessing personal apps on their work device without permission,
compared to just 22% and 18% of boomers respectively. -
Younger workers are exponentially more emotional when they do ask for
permission to acquire software or applications. Compared to baby
boomers, millennials are nearly five times more likely to be nervous
(24% vs 5%) and over four times more likely to feel it is beneath them
(22% vs 5%). -
In general, management-level employees (manager, director, vice
president or executive) were almost twice as likely to use
unauthorized professional or personal software and applications
compared to individual contributors (entry-level, associate or
specialist). -
Vice presidents and C-level executives led the way in using work apps
(57%) and personal apps (51%) on their work device without permission. -
There is a disconnect between workers’ behavior and understanding the
business risks of unsanctioned and unmanaged technology. For example,
just 7% of executives said they don’t think it causes any business
issues, yet 57% have engaged in that exact behavior by downloading
work applications and software without IT’s permission. And even
though entry-level employees are the best behaved, with only 25%
downloading work software or applications without permission, they
were also most likely to think that doing so doesn’t have any negative
impact on the business.
These findings further validate the challenges organizations face as
digitally-native employees and business unit leaders – not IT
gatekeepers – increasingly drive the investment and consumption of
software, applications and services. Today’s businesses and institutions
need to understand what is in their technology landscape as well as how
it is being used. But the real opportunity lies in using those insights
to maximize value and drive better outcomes. This evolution was the
driving force behind Snow’s newly expanded mission: to provide complete
insight and manageability across all technology.
“In an era defined by digital transformation, we are focused on helping
the enterprise face some of their biggest challenges,” said Vishal Rao,
President & CEO of Snow. “The market has shifted away from niche point
solutions that each manage a different part of your cloud, software and
hardware. Our focus is on providing a single platform that goes beyond
discovering assets to driving action. From the Fortune 100 to federal
agencies, from Stockholm to San Francisco to Sydney, we are helping the
world’s most impactful organizations gain complete technology
intelligence.”
Underlying Snow’s mission is a foundation of customer-centricity,
highlighted by the recent appointment of Richard Anderson as the
industry’s first Chief Customer Officer. End-users themselves
recognized the company as a 2019
Gartner Peer Insights Customer’s Choice for Software Asset Management.
Analysts also named Snow a Leader in the 2019
Gartner Magic Quadrant for Software Asset Management for the second
year in a row, placing it furthest to the right for completeness of
vision.
About Snow Software
Snow Software is the global leader in
technology intelligence solutions, ensuring the trillions spent on all
forms of technology is optimized to drive maximum value. More than 4,000
organizations around the world rely on Snow’s platform to provide
complete visibility, optimize usage and spend, and minimize regulatory
risk. Headquartered in Stockholm, Snow has more local offices and
regional support centers than any other software asset and cloud
management provider, delivering unparalleled results to our customers
and partners. To find out more about Snow Software, visit www.snowsoftware.com.
For the latest information about Snow, please visit:
Web: www.snowsoftware.com
Twitter:
@snowsoftware
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