- IP EXPO survey reveals half of companies looking into Big Data; a majority of employees want BYOD; and security remains top concern -

IP EXPO, 18 October 2012: A majority of organisations see the main benefits of Big Data as providing information to improve services and performance (56%), rather than marketing (22%), finds a survey from the UK’s largest end-to-end infrastructure event, IP EXPO.

The survey, which gathered the views of business leaders attending IP EXPO, also shows that nearly half of respondents (49%) are either looking into how Big Data can help their organisations, are investigating a Big Data strategy or already have one.

The three most important sources of Big Data are seen to be information generated by the customer, with transactions (30%), interactions (18%) and profiles (17%) all believed to be key.

Allowing employees to use personal devices for work – known as Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) - is gaining momentum. Around seven in 10 (68%) of business leaders are under more pressure than they were five years ago to introduce mobile and flexible working practices. This is up from six in 10 (62%) from a similar survey at Unified Communications Expo earlier this year.

Also on the rise is the number of organisations that believe a majority of their employees want to use personal devices for work. The IP EXPO survey found 69% of employers said at least half of workers want BYOD, compared to 64% at Unified Communications Expo.

Business leaders consider the key advantages for implementing BYOD to be improving employee satisfaction (38%), productivity (30%) and reducing costs (19%), but the greatest concern is security (77%).

On the question of security, 66% of those polled strongly agreed with the statement: “Security concerns are a major barrier to our adoption of cloud solutions”. This caution is highlighted by the fact that 57% of respondents have never had a serious breach of security and a further 21% have not had one in the last year.

“What makes these results surprising is that businesses are using Big Data for more than just marketing purposes,” says Hugh Keeble, managing director of event organisers, Imago Techmedia. “It shows organisations want to use every tool at their disposal to improve efficiencies to help them survive and thrive in the current climate.

“The results also show that security remains a major concern. This needs to be addressed, as it could be holding companies back from using key technologies and solutions that have the potential to transform their business, offer a competitive differentiator or open up new revenue streams. By attending IP EXPO businesses are able to speak to leading experts about all these issues and find a solution that is best for their company.”

For more information on exhibitor news and show highlights, visit www.ipexpo.co.uk.