The biggest challenges around connected devices

Few European IT departments or workplaces are ready for the invasion of wearable technology and other connected devices.

According to a 110-country survey of ISACA members who are business and IT professionals, 43% of respondents in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) say their organization has plans in place to leverage the Internet of Things or expects to create plans in the next 12 months.

However, the majority is not ready for wearable technology in the workplace. More than half (57%) say their BYOD policy does not address wearables and a further 24% do not even have a BYOD policy in place. This is a concern, as approximately 8 in 10 respondents (81%) say BYOW (bring your own wearables) is as risky as—or riskier than—BYOD.

Overall, half of ISACA members across EMEA believe the benefit of the Internet of Things outweighs the risk for individuals (50%), while nearly a third believe the risk outweighs the benefit for enterprises (31%). Yet despite the risks, nearly a third (30%) says the Internet of Things has given their business greater access to information and a quarter (25%) say it has improved services in their organization.

Approximately four in 10 hope to benefit from improved services (40%), increased customer satisfaction (39%), and greater efficiency (38%) as a result of connected devices.

Despite the benefits of connected devices, more than half (51%) of respondents believe the biggest challenge regarding the Internet of Things is increased security threats, while a quarter (26%) are concerned about data privacy issues. Two-thirds (68%) admit they are very concerned about the decreasing level of personal privacy.

More than a quarter of respondents say the general public’s biggest concerns about connected devices should be that they don’t know how the information collected on the devices will be used (28%) or they don’t know who has access to the information collected (26%).

“The Internet of Things is here to stay, and following the holidays, we are likely to see a surge in wearable devices in the workplace,” said Ramsés Gallego, international vice president of ISACA. “These devices can deliver great value, but they can also bring great risk. ISACA’s research found that more than a third (35%) of EMEA ISACA members believe Big Data has the potential to add significant value, yet one-fifth (21%) admit their organization lacks the analytics capabilities or skills to deal with it.”