Mobile Device Compliance and Security Risk Findings

The dramatic growth in the use of mobile devices in the workplace exposes many corporations to the risk of regulatory compliance violations and security threats, the newest study from the Business Performance Management (BPM) Forum reveals. The research, sponsored by InfoExpress, Nokia and Sybase, reveals that while most businesses are integrating mobility into their organization, too few have policies in place to protect mobile device content for compliance and security purposes -- and fewer still have measures in place to enforce those policies.

With IDC projecting the mobile workforce to grow beyond 878 million globally by 2009, the report, "Comply on the Fly: Keeping Pace with the Management Challenges of Mobile Data Management," explores whether businesses are implementing initiatives to provide internal controls and address data security risks from mobile device use.

Among the findings:

• Nearly half of all respondents report that a minimum of 25 percent of all mobile devices in their organization carry mission critical applications and information
• 40 percent of respondents have no measures at all to manage mobile data tracking, back-up and archiving for regulatory compliance purposes
• Smaller companies ($100 million in revenue and under) face a greater risk of violations with just 32.4 percent implementing formal mobile compliance policies
• There is disconnect between IT executives who recognize mobile device compliance and security risks, and C-level executives who see benefits, not risks