Study Explores Security Risks for Work Laptops

How secure is your information at work? Of the 26 percent of workers who reported having office laptops, 61 percent said they have critical, sensitive information stored on them.  According to CareerBuilder's latest nationwide study, a significant number of workers may be putting their company or themselves at risk by failing to secure their laptop, sharing passwords or clicking on links from unknown sources.

What type of proprietary information is stored on laptops?
In addition to office-related data and documents, a notable percentage of workers said their laptops currently house a variety of personal files. When asked to identify the type of sensitive information that can be found on their office computers, workers with laptops pointed to:

-- Company information – 48 percent

-- Client information – 27 percent

-- Personal financial information – 18 percent

-- Other personal information – 18 percent

How many workers leave their laptops unguarded?
The survey found most workers don't always leave critical information under lock and key.    

-- 57 percent of workers don't have a laptop security device.

-- 52 percent don't lock their computer when they're away from their desk.

-- 25 percent have left their laptop unsecured overnight.

Higher theft rates were reported among workers ages 18 to 24. Thirteen percent said they have had a work laptop stolen compared to 5 percent of all workers. 

What others ways do workers put their companies and themselves at risk?
As malware and other types of fraudulent activity become more pervasive, a seemingly benign interaction can have serious consequences. Some risky behaviors include: 

-- 9 percent of workers have downloaded a virus on their computer at work.

-- 18 percent of workers have opened an attachment or clicked on a link from a sender they didn't know.

-- 18 percent have looked at a website that they knew wasn't secure while at work.

How accessible are passwords?
While half of workers reported they memorize their passwords, 12 percent keep their passwords at their desk, written on their laptop or in their computer case or purse/wallet. Others have openly discussed their passwords with fellow workers. 

-- 27 percent of workers reported that a co-worker gave them their password.

-- 15 percent have shared their password with a co-worker. Those age 55+ were the most likely to share passwords, while those 18 to 24 were the least likely.

What about mobile devices?
Eighteen percent of workers access corporate email through a smart phone; 5 percent have lost their smart phone or had it stolen.

More information on customer service and support employees can be found at www.SupportIndustry.com

 

Survey Shows Marginal Rise in Salary Increases in 2012; Spending on Performance-Based Awards Remains Strong

A new survey by Aon Hewitt, the global human resources solutions business of Aon plc, reveals that salaries for U.S. workers continue to rise incrementally as concerns remain about the stability of the global economy. However, workers have the potential to offset low base pay increases through performance-based awards.

According to Aon Hewitt's survey of more than 1,300 U.S. companies, base pay increases for salaried exempt workers were 2.8 percent in 2012, up marginally from 2.7 percent in 2011. Salaries have inched upwards year-over-year since 2009 when pay increases reached an all-time low of 1.8 percent.

Pay increases are expected to rise slightly in 2013. For executives, salaried exempt and salaried nonexempt workers, Aon Hewitt projects base pay increases of 3.0 percent in 2013.

According to Aon Hewitt's report, employers continue to offer variable pay, or performance-based awards that must be re-earned each year, as a primary way to drive performance and increase engagement while minimizing their fixed costs. In 2012, 90 percent of companies offered at least one variable pay program, in line with 2011.

Overall spending on variable pay as a percentage of payroll continues to rise steadily for salaried exempt workers. In 2012, companies spent 12.0 percent on variable pay, compared to 11.6 percent in 2011. Spending is expected to rise slightly to 12.1 percent in 2013.

According to Aon Hewitt's survey, workers in some U.S. cities can expect to see salary increases higher than the national average in 2013. These cities include Denver (3.6 percent); Austin, Dallas/Fort Worth, Detroit and San Diego (3.4 percent); and Houston and Kansas City (3.3 percent). Cities that can expect lower-than-average increases in 2013 include San Francisco (2.7 percent), Chicago and Minneapolis/St. Paul (2.8 percent).

More information on customer service and support can be found at www.SupportIndustry.com

Consumers Will Spend $2.1 Trillion on Technology Products and Services Worldwide in 2012

Consumers will spend $2.1 trillion worldwide on digital information and entertainment products and services in 2012, according to Gartner, Inc. This amounts to a $114 billion global increase compared with 2011, and spending will continue to grow at a faster rate than in the past, at around $130 billion a year, to reach $2.7 trillion by the end of 2016.

The $2.1 trillion consists of what the consumers will spend on mobile phones, computing and entertainment, media and other smart devices, the services that are required to make these devices connected to the appropriate network, and software and media content that are consumed via these devices.

Mobile services are expected to generate 37 percent of total worldwide consumer technology spending in 2012 -- that is $0.8 trillion -- rising to almost $1 trillion by 2016. Mobile phones will account for 10 percent of total spending in 2012 -- that is $222 billion -- rising to almost $300 billion by 2016. Similarly, entertainment services -- cable, satellite, IPTV and online gaming, will account for 10 percent of total consumer spending on technology products and services in 2012, at $210 billion, rising to almost $290 billion in 2016.

Gartner predicts that consumer spending on mobile apps stores and content will rise from $18 billion in 2012 to $61 billion by 2016, and that spending on e-text content (e-books, online news, magazines and information services) will rise from $5 billion in 2012 to $16 billion by 2016.

The inter-relationships among the various segments are getting more critical. For example, new multidevice rate plans being announced by U.S. mobile carriers are enabling consumers to get more from their devices. These persistent connections to more phones, tablets and mobile PCs will increase the value of entire ecosystem and will drive hardware sales. Partnerships among vendors in different segments are needed to build the bridges among the various platforms and deliver simpler solutions.

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Survey Shows IT Is at Top of Investment Priorities, Tied With Sales

Board directors are prioritizing customers, core competencies and competitive advantage, according to the second annual Gartner-Forbes 2012 Board ofDirectors Survey. Half of the board directors surveyed were willing to invest in IT as a means to change the rules of competition, and they had IT as the highest priority for investment in 2012, tied with investments in sales.

Gartner and Forbes surveyed 175 board members in March and April of 2012 regarding their perceptions of the key business issues facing their organizations, and the contemporary aspect of their attitudes toward IT. 

The priorities of the board directors in this survey were directly centered on customers, building better ways to drive the business forward through better core competencies, working on sustaining competitive advantage, or innovation. Gartner analysts said all of these are proactive efforts to acquire, retain or develop customers and markets.

Eighty-six percent of respondents said they believe that IT's strategic contribution to the business will increase by 2014. 

The fastest-rising priority is pursuing greater diversity in the business portfolio, which will drive mergers and acquisitions (M&As). Gartner recommends that IT leaders review their plans for integrating acquired company systems. They should also prepare plans for divestitures as the investment portfolio is restructured for lower risk. 

The Gartner-Forbes 2012 Board of Directors Survey asked board directors to rate each of 30 different choices from extremely low importance to extremely high importance. The top five priorities were:

1. Attracting new customers
2. Retaining and enhancing existing customers
3. Focusing on core competencies
4. Maintaining competitive advantage
5. Fostering innovation 

More information about IT, service and support can be found at www.SupportIndustry.com

Gartner Identifies Top Priority Skills for IT Asset Management Leaders

The evolving and growing role of IT asset management (ITAM) is driving both increased demand for existing skills and a new requirement for augmented financial, commercial and legal skills, according to Gartner, Inc.

Gartner hasidentified six skills that are considered priority skills for ITAM leaders. Because the ITAM discipline is embedded across all aspects of IT and is part of everyday IT activity, communication skills (including the ability to negotiate organizational politics) should be the top priority when recruiting for ITAM. These skills are followed in importance first by the analytical (technical) skills needed to interpret the data and provide reporting to stakeholders, and then by the administrative skills to manage both the data and process compliance.

Communication

ITAM staff must be able to communicate effectively with staff and management at all levels of the organization in writing and verbally. ITAM staff must ensure robust internal communication: to effectively raise end-user awareness of ITAM's importance, to make senior management aware of potential risks, to provide input into decision-making processes, and to collaborate with teams such as HR, IT security, internal audit and privacy. Communication includes the ability to negotiate organizational politics and tailor the message to ensure that it is appropriate to the audience and its priorities. Communication with external contacts, including vendors, auditors and consultants, will also be required.

Technical

An understanding of license models, software delivery models and metrics is necessary, as well as understanding the application of the license entitlements that go along with them. ITAM monitors and tracks assets over time. Tracking performance by device type and model enables improved sourcing and a better understanding of total cost of ownership (TCO). ITAM employees need to understand whether existing tools can deliver the data they need, and to specify any new requirements. ITAM leaders must develop and maintain technical skills to match the rapidly evolving IT environment, hardware technologies and software licensing models.

Administrative

Administrative tasks are necessary at all levels of ITAM maturity, and in larger teams are carried out in entry-level roles. Individuals recruited into these roles for their administrative and organizational ability have the potential to learn ITAM-specific skills, such as license management, and can be developed into more specialist roles as the ITAM discipline matures. Too often considered unimportant, skilled administrative personnel can be a key enabler of effective ITAM. Leaders should ensure that strong administrative skills, which include attention to detail, organizational skills and the ability to follow established processes, are included in role profiles.

Financial

As ITAM changes from an inventory management function to a more strategic financial management role, it must develop financial awareness. The role of ITAM is to assist in determining business value by providing the cost analysis and asset-related financial data required to support the business in its decision-making process, and ITAM staff must have the necessary skills to deliver these. They must understand the basic principles of financial management and work with finance to carry out financial analysis and develop financial models. They will also need an awareness of accounting standards where they are relevant to, and impact on, ITAM.

Negotiation

ITAM has had, and continues to have, a close relationship with procurement. Knowledge of the supplier negotiation process, including competitive bidding and leverage points, as well as related policies and procedures all supplement communication skills. Organizations with mature procurement and vendor management will have documented standard procedures for supplier interaction. ITAM managers should request copies of procurement and vendor management policies and processes, and ensure they are understood and followed.

Legal

ITAM staff must understand the risks of noncompliance, and be able to quantify and effectively communicate these to executive management teams with the aim of preventing situations that might compromise compliance or cause contract breaches. Legal counsel should engage the ITAM team when dealing with mergers, acquisitions and divestitures, to ensure that the impact on both hardware and software assets is fully understood.

More information on IT Asset Management can be found at www.SupportIndustry.com

Worldwide IT Spending On Pace to Surpass $3.6 Trillion in 2012

Worldwide IT spending is on pace to reach $3.6 trillion in 2012, a 3 percent increase from 2011 spending of $3.5 trillion, according to the latest outlook by Gartner, Inc. Gartner's 2012 ITspending outlook has been revised up slightly from the 2.5 percent projection last quarter.

Gartner's global IT spending forecast is relied upon by more than 75 percent of the Global 500 companies in their key technology decisions. The market segments are analyzed by more than 200 Gartner business and technology analysts who are located in all regions of the world.

However, there are some bright spots for IT providers. In contrast to the rather lackluster growth outlook for overall IT spending, Gartner expects enterprise spending on public cloud services to grow from $91 billion worldwide in 2011 to $109 billion in 2012. By 2016, enterprise public cloud services spending will reach $207 billion.

Worldwide IT services spending is forecast to reach $864 billion in 2012, a 2.3 percent increase from 2011. Demand for consulting services is expected to remain high due to the complexity of environments for global business and technology leaders. Gartner analysts said consulting itself is becoming increasingly technology-based with the rise of analytics and big data, having deep implications on the future of consulting services.

The global telecom services market continues to be the largest IT spending market. Telecom services growth is expected to come not only from net connections, especially in emerging markets, but also in mature markets from the uptake of multiple connected devices, such as media tablets, gaming and other consumer electronics devices.

More information on customer service, support and IT spending can be found at www.SupportIndustry.com

Survey Reveals Americans Working More, But On Their Own Schedule

Good Technology, a provider of secure and managed enterprise mobility for a range of mobile devices, announced that the average American puts in more than a month and a half of overtime a year – just by answering calls and emails at home.

In a survey of U.S. working adults, more than 80 percent of people continue working when they have left the office - for an average of seven extra hours each week – almost another full day of work. That's a total of close to 30 hours a month or 365 extra hours every year. They're also using their cell phones to mix work and their personal life in ways never seen before.

While 60 percent do it simply to stay organized, almost half feel they have no choice because their customers demand quick replies. Thirty-one percent of respondents admit to continuing to work at home as they find it hard to 'switch off.' Half of Americans can't even put their phone down while in bed, as they read or respond to work emails after climbing under the covers.

This overtime has become so commonplace that only a quarter of the 1,000 workers polled said it caused an occasional disagreement with their partner. In what points to changing attitudes to mobile work, well over half surveyed reported no arguments whatsoever from their spouse or significant other over answering email or making work calls at home.

The study also revealed:

-- 68 percent of people check their work emails before 8 a.m.

-- The average American first checks their phone around 7:09 a.m.

-- 50 percent check their work email while still in bed

-- The work day is growing – 40 percent still do work email after 10 p.m.

-- 69 percent will not go to sleep without checking their work email

-- 57 percent check work emails on family outings

-- 38 percent routinely check work emails while at the dinner table

More information on enterprise mobility can be found at www.SupportIndustry.com