Dive Brief:
- Even with more mobile devices in the workplace, employees still rely on desktop computers, a Gartner survey of more than 9,500 respondents found.
- While 80% of those surveyed receive more than one device from the company, more than half of workers still receive desktop PCs. But more than one-third are now receiving laptops, which includes convertible laptops.
- Even though employees receive more than one device, it is increasingly rare for them to have a mobile phone issued. Just 23% are given company smartphones, while the majority use personally-owned devices.
Dive Insight:
Technology in the enterprise has continued to change, however device use has largely remained the same. One of the exceptions stems for work-issued mobile devices. In a place where the BlackBerry once reigned, more and more, employees rely on their smartphones.
As one Intel executive pointed out to CIO Dive, PCs are still a critical and strategic business tool. Though device capabilities have become increasingly agile, the traditional use of a PC at a desk still persists. But now, more companies are looking toward convertible devices, some with touch screens, which allow for increased flexibility. That way, employees could take technology from the office to a plant floor or to a retail location, for example, without disrupting access.
Gartner says this is in part driven by Windows 10 updates that allow for seamless touch-based input on devices.
