SAN JOSE, CA--(Marketwire - November 23, 2009) - Cisco (
The survey, conducted by InsightExpress and commissioned by Cisco, interviewed 502 information technology decision makers from U.S. businesses of all sizes. The survey questioned IT professionals in the health care, retail, finance, government and education sectors.
Highlights
- More than half (53 percent) of the IT executives surveyed said that less than half their employees were currently set up to work remotely and 21 percent said that they have no employees enabled to work remotely.
- Asked why more employees did not have access to the technology that would enable them to work outside the office, 38 percent said that business requirements did not necessitate it.
- Only 22 percent of the respondents feel that their current remote-access solutions have positioned their companies for disaster preparedness and business continuity.
- Just 15 percent of the respondents listed "pandemic or other disaster preparedness" as a top business driver for providing remote access to employees, and only 5 percent listed it as the primary business driver.
The Case for Remote Access
The results indicate that the majority of companies are not considering the importance of remote-access solutions for potential business interruptions, focusing more on business needs under normal conditions. In most cases, the cost to implement remote access across an entire workforce is a fraction of what the loss of business would be if employees could not work remotely during a crisis.
Organizations, however, do understand the benefits of telework: 71 percent of the survey respondents said that employee productivity is a key business driver for providing remote access, and 55 percent reported that enabling efficient and competitive business operations was a key driver for offering remote access.
Of those who had adopted mobility and remote-access technology, 62 percent said that it had resulted in increased employee productivity, with 57 percent noting an increase in employee satisfaction and 42 percent seeing a reduction in overhead costs.
Results varied somewhat by industry, with businesses in the health care and finance industries being better prepared, in general, for a pandemic or other disaster situation than those in the retail, education and government sectors.
Supporting Quotes:
- Fred Kost, director, security solutions marketing, Cisco
"Secure remote access and business continuity go hand-in-hand. Technology that enables employees beyond the traditional workplace to connect securely to the corporate network is a win-win for both themselves and employers. Keeping your network up-to-date with the latest security technology in preparation for unforeseen events is essential, although this survey clearly shows that many enterprises still have a ways to go. Yet the benefit has become apparent. Companies that have made secure remote access broadly available have realized improved efficiency and continuity of operations."
- Jeff Neronha, IT manager in charge of network engineering and operations, City of San Antonio
"Equipping our staff with the technology to work securely from a remote location has greatly enhanced the continuity of our operation. While this technology was initially adopted to help individual workers who, from time to time, are unable to come into the office, it has proven to be a valuable tool for the business as a whole. During certain times of year, events such as severe weather or peak flu season tend to keep large numbers of workers out of the office. At these times we are reminded that remote technology is not just convenient but critical to our business operation, allowing workers to communicate and share documents with a high degree of security from multiple locations."
Video:
Cisco's Fred Kost, director, security solutions marketing, previews findings from a nationwide survey entitled "Securing the Mobile Workforce."
http://www.youtube.com/v/cN3xlYNLnRY&hl=en&fs=1
Supporting Resources:
- Blog Post: Remote Access is Essential for Business Continuity
Cisco Business Continuity
Cisco Teleworking Solutions Maintain Business Continuity During Disasters
- Visit the Cisco Security blog on The Platform
Technorati Tags: Cisco, pandemic, planning, security, vpn, mobile workforce, remote access, business continuity, study
About Cisco Systems
Cisco (
Cisco, the Cisco logo, and Cisco Systems are registered trademarks or trademarks of Cisco Systems, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the United States and certain other countries. All other trademarks mentioned in this document are the property of their respective owners. The use of the word partner does not imply a partnership relationship between Cisco and any other company. This document is Cisco Public Information.
For direct RSS Feeds of all Cisco news, please visit "News@Cisco" at the following link:
http://newsroom.cisco.com/dlls/rss.html
Contact Information:
Cisco Press Contact:
David Oro
Cisco
707-558-8585
daoro@cisco.com
Industry Analyst Contact:
Todd Hanson
Cisco
408-853-8255
todhanso@cisco.com
Investor Relations Contact:
Marilyn Mora
Cisco
408-527-7452
marilmor@cisco.com