In a survey of over 4,000 full-time employees worldwide on BYOD behaviour and attitudes, Ovum analysts found a concerning level of ignorance by IT professionals about the BYOD trend.

Nearly half of the respondents' employers' IT departments either did not know of BYOD or were ignoring its existence, operating a "don't ask, don't tell" policy, while a further 8.1 percent actively discouraged it.

Levels of ignorance by IT were significantly higher in mature economies with more rigid working practices, such as those of Continental Europe, compared to high-growth economies such as Brazil, India and South Africa.

"Despite much speculation, BYOD is here to stay. Therefore, it's worrying to see evidence of such a high proportion of businesses burying their head in the sand when it comes to planning adequately for it," said Richard Absalom, senior analyst at Ovum.

One of the key questions about the outlook for the BYOD phenomenon is whether, as enterprises update their corporate device fleets to the large touchscreen devices that employees actually want and are buying through consumer channels, the effect will be neutralised.