MformationThe mobile device management software company

Lack of Mobile Data Management Puts Nine Out of Ten Businesses at Risk of Failing to Meet Compliance Regulations

 88 percent of businesses have no process in place for tracking corporate data on employee mobile devices

Windsor, UK – 10 September 2007 – Nine out of ten businesses do not track all information that is kept on mobile devices, according to research by Coleman Parkes With employees storing everything from business emails to sales data and customer information on their mobile devices, this has major implications in terms of information management compliance and data protection regulations.

“For some time now, mobile devices have enabled far more than just voice and SMS. While they have always stored some level of personal data, advanced applications for mobile devices mean they are now carrying ever more sensitive information, not just for the user but also for businesses. Loss of these devices doesn’t just mean lost data, it can potentially be seriously damaging to a company’s reputation, and can result in regulations being breached,” said Matt Bancroft, VP, Mformation, sponsors of the research. “We expected there to be some companies who were still unaware of exactly what data their employees carry on their mobile devices, but to have nine out of ten businesses say they don’t know what is on company devices is incredible.”

Given the capacity of mobile devices to store large amounts of potentially sensitive data, 78 percent of respondents said they are concerned about data security. Surprisingly, six percent of companies actually admitted that mobile loss or misuse has led to sensitive company data being leaked. In the UK specifically, 10 percent of companies admitted that this has been the case. With over 60,000[1] phones lost or stolen every month in the UK alone, the number of companies really affected by data loss is likely to be higher. It is no wonder then, that 55 percent are concerned that this will become a significant issue over the next five years.

“Interestingly, two out of five companies cannot track all mobile devices to employees. That, combined with the fact that so few know what data mobile devices hold, means that it is nearly impossible to work out what kind of data could have been leaked in the event of a device loss. When you consider that 63 percent of companies indicate that employees carry sensitive customer data on their mobile devices and 28 percent indicate that company mobile devices are used to access corporate financial data, this could lead to very serious issues,” continued Bancroft. “Companies need to be able to manage, track, back up and replace this vital data or they risk not only putting the company at risk but also violating important compliance regulations.”

In fact, 84 percent of respondents recognise that the cost of complying with regulations will increase with the proliferation of mobile devices and their capacity to store more critical data. This is because companies need to ensure that regulations around data management and data protection are consistently applied in a mobile world. For example, in certain industries data privacy regulations require that companies take specific proactive measures to mitigate the risks associated with accessing and storing sensitive information. With the research showing that most organisations do not know what data is on their employees’ mobile devices, they are clearly going to struggle with these types of regulations.

Furthermore, more than half of companies questioned fear that data leaks will increase over the next five years. According to 68 percent of companies, one of the major issues is not just the security of the data stored on the device, but the security of device access into corporate networks.

“Organisations clearly need to find ways to improve the management and security of mobile devices and, more specifically, the data on them. Businesses have seen huge improvements in terms of productivity and customer service through the use of mobile technologies; they now need combine policies and procedures with management tools to ensure that security is not compromised,” Bancroft concluded.

The research was sponsored by Mformation, with 200 CIOs of enterprise companies across the UK, Europe and the US being questioned.

[1] Source: Pinnacle Telecom Plc

About Mformation

Mformation Technologies Inc. is the leading global provider of mobile device management (MDM) technology, offering a complete solution that enables mobile operators to rapidly accelerate their data revenues and reduce support costs. Mformation's award-winning MFORMATION SERVICE MANAGER™ suite is the most complete, flexible and integrated mobile device management software solution in the industry, providing solutions for OMA DM-based provisioning and configuration, FOTA management, smartphone application management, diagnostics, security management, enterprise management and customer experience management.

MFORMATION SERVICE MANAGER™ received the 2007 GSM Association’s award for “Best Service Delivery Platform” and was a finalist for the 2008 CTIA E-Tech award in the 4G-Service Management category.  Mformation's platform has been licensed to leading operators in Asia, Europe and the US including Sprint Nextel, T-Mobile, Telefónica and Vodafone.  Mformation is headquartered in Edison, New Jersey with offices around the globe.  Mformation is a privately held company funded by Battery Ventures, Carmel Ventures, Intel Capital [NASDAQ: INTC], North Bridge Venture Partners, QuestMark Partners, Visa International and Wasatch Advisors Inc.  

Contact Mformation on the Web at www.mformation.com

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