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Desktop computers continue to be the most popular device adopted by users within corporate networks, a new study by Gartner has found, while the use of personally-owned devices in the workplace still lacks maturity.
The company's 2016 Personal Technologies Study found that more than four out of five workers receive at least one corporate-owned device with which to connect to their workplace's network and conduct business activities, with more than half of these getting desktop PCs.
This is despite many commentators suggesting that the future of the enterprise will be a more mobile one, where personally-owned smartphones and tablets predominate - something that IT managers will have to bear in mind when building fast, reliable and secure networks.
But for the moment, Gartner noted that the market for these mobile gadgets in the workplace remains immature, as tried and tested technologies continue to be favoured by businesses.
It should also serve as a reminder to IT departments that despite the forecasts of a future where wireless networking is the norm, traditional desktop computing is not going away any time soon, which needs to be reflected in how businesses plan their infrastructure.
Mikako Kitagawa, principal research analyst at Gartner, said: "In the era of mobility, it comes as something of a surprise that corporate usage of smartphones and tablets is not as high as PCs, even when the use of personally owned devices is taken into account."
While the initial costs of providing corporate mobile devices and ensuring that the underlying networking infrastructure supporting them can be off-putting to many companies, Ms Kitagawa said that in the long term, the productivity benefits that can be seen as a result of these gadgets can easily justify these additional expenses.
In the coming years, Gartner expects more employees to be provided with convertible laptops, driven by a desire to refresh equipment with new technology such as Windows 10, which can enhance user experience thanks to functionality like touch inputs.
When it comes to mobile devices however, it is personally-owned gadgets that are more common in the workplace. Less than a quarter of workers (23 per cent) are issued with corporate-owned devices, while two-thirds of respondents said they used a personally-owned gadget at work.
Therefore, it will be vital for IT administrators to have a clear understanding of what they must do to support these users, both in terms of ensuring there are adequate wireless networking facilities and that networks are secured against potentially risky outside connections that have not been approved.
"The low adoption of corporate-issued mobile devices underlines the fact that large numbers of personally owned mobile devices are used in the workplace," said Ms Kitagawa. "In fact, more than half of employees who used smartphones at work rely solely on their personally owned smartphones."
If you're finding that an increase in employee-owned mobile devices is impacting your networking speeds, there are several steps you can take to improve this, from repositioning your router to investing in additional technology.
