SMBs lead the way in consumerisation of IT

SMBs are leading the way when it comes to facilitating the use of employee-owned devices, and the consumerisation of IT could give them a competitive edge, suggests research from IDC.

The market watcher reports that firms in developed countries typically use advanced technology more than companies in the developing world.

In the SMB arena, however, the gap between mature and developing markets is much narrower. Smaller firms all over the world are proving more likely than their bigger counterparts to allow worker-owned tablets, smartphones and notebooks onto the corporate network.

Medium-sized business are somewhat more likely to encourage the use of staff devices, with 46.7 per cent of firms in the developed world allowing employee smartphones to access their network. For small businesses, this figure is 33.7 per cent.

Ray Boggs, vice president of SMB markets at IDC, said: "To remain competitive and increase efficiency, SMBs in developing countries are leveraging workers' own technologies. Despite the potential security risks, these SMBs continue to allow employees to gain access to the company network and related resources through their own devices."