Here is some good news for organisations sceptical about introducing bring your own device (BYOD) policy. According to a global survey of IT decision makers across more than 10 countries, "approximately 70 per cent of companies believe BYOD can improve their work processes and help them work better in the future." In fact, an estimated 59 per cent believed that they would be at a competitive disadvantage without BYOD.

One of key findings of the study is that an estimated three quarters of those polled stated that BYOD can only deliver massive benefits if the specific needs and rights of each user are understood.  

On an average, survey respondents identified four personal gains for their employees, including more flexible working hours, along with the ability to foster creativity, speed innovation, and facilitate teamwork and collaboration.

Roger Bjork, director, Enterprise Mobility Solutions, Dell Software Group said, "This global survey confirms what we have long suspected—companies that embrace a user-focused approach to BYOD may reap the biggest rewards, face the fewest obstacles and deliver real and immediate value in terms of greater efficiency, productivity and competitive advantage. Those slow to support BYOD or constrained by a device-centric approach may deal with greater challenges, including the risk of being left behind from a competitive standpoint.” 

The survey was carried out across the United States, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Australia, Singapore, India, and the Beijing region.

The report said that in India all the organisations polled either plan to or already offer some support for personal devices.

The two technology areas most commonly implemented first for BYOD are desktop virtualization and mobile device management (MDM). France, Germany, Spain, Italy, and Australia implemented desktop virtualization first, while Singapore, India, Beijing, the U.K., and U.S. started with MDM.