A10 Networks’ Application Intelligence Report reveals apps embedded in global workforce’s life more than ever, but security not always top priority and acceptance of getting hacked is growing
According to the results of A10 Networks’ Application Intelligence Report (AIR), work and personal apps are so integral in daily life that many in the global workforce believe it is impossible and physically uncomfortable to live without them, comparing them in importance to basic daily nourishment like eating, breathing and socializing.
AIR takes a unique, easy-to-understand approach to examining the human and cultural side of technology trends – specifically, the interaction with applications and the growing security implications that result personally and for businesses and their IT organizations. Based on research involving more than 2,000 business and IT professionals at companies from various industries around the world- including India, AIR addresses the rise in use and significance of apps in our “blended lives,” in which lines blur between how the global workforce manages work and personal business through use of apps at home, in the office and anywhere in between.
The research was conducted in 10 countries, representing some of the world’s largest economies and fastest growing populations of technology adopters: Brazil, China, France, Germany, India, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, the United Kingdom and the United States. Key findings include:
Half (50%) of all global respondents consider apps to be as or almost as important as breathing, eating and drinking. More than four out of five globally consider apps integral to their personal lives. India ranked second-highest (behind China) as a country that found it most difficult to live without apps, with 97 percent of the Indians surveyed citing they could either not live without apps – or it would be difficult to do so. In fact, access to apps was almost as important as access to water in India. This raises questions about how applications have evolved to the point where “they are now part of our DNA.”
The survey also found that access to apps on a smart phone was equally as important as the ability to have access to sunlight or outdoor exposure. In fact, India at 68 per cent had the highest percentage of respondents who that claimed apps to be as significant – or nearly so – as air, food, water and shelter.
More respondents (45%) would grab their smart phone on the way out of their homes – if given the choice of only taking one item – over a safe with important documents (36%), their personal photo albums (12%), or a desktop or laptop (7%).
Laptops are perceived as more vulnerable than mobile phones, when compared to a list that also includes IoT devices like surveillance cameras, smart TVs and Internet-enabled cars – all of which are, to many respondents, are unknowingly vulnerable as well. On the mobile phone front Indians lose their mobile devices almost twice as much as the global average thereby increasing the vulnerability quotient.
“Understanding the dependency on apps in our lives raises questions about the diligence we apply to protecting our personal information. This is important when considering use of personal and work apps with work-issued devices on corporate networks in the workplace. AIR’s insight into behavioral tendencies with apps and the impact on personal and business risk is a topic that is not addressed enough. As a security vendor, we see a need to increase the volume on factoring in human behavior with technology Investments. After all, the greatest security technology can be undermined by negligent behavior, and we want to help our customers protect their solution investments, businesses, and employees.”
