A survey has suggested the cost to both organisations and people of mismanaging user admin rights. Some 19 per cent missed a critical deadline as a result of being denied full access to an application:
14per cent lost a job and 6pc missed a promotion
Nearly three in ten people don’t have access to all the applications they need to do their jobs
16pc of people would be tempted to use their admin rights to access sensitive data if they still had them after they left their company
Nearly a quarter of users call IT support three or more times per year because they can’t get an app to work because of admin rights issues
More than one in five people know someone in their organization who has breached IT security policies .
“We always knew that there would be a significant impact on businesses if they mismanage user admin rights– security breaches, people accessing data after they leave or expensive help desk calls. This survey also reveals the shocking impact on individuals,” said Paul Kenyon, COO at Avecto.
Kenyon continued, “Being denied access to work applications has a greater impact on men than women – with half of men saying it has caused them problems, compared to just a third of women. It also worried more men, with a quarter fearing that they won’t be able to access the technology they need to do their jobs. Perhaps this ‘loaphobia’ (Lack-Of-Application-Phobia) will be the next big thing worrying the UK’s workforce?”
“Missing a deadline, which has happened to nearly one in five people, is perhaps a cost to the business rather than the individual, but the fact that another one in five have lost a job or missed a promotion simply because they couldn’t access the applications they need, is inexcusable,” Kenyon added.
The survey asked people how many times a year they call IT as a result of not being able to get an application to work because of admin rights issues. The average was 1.77 times per year, but nearly a quarter of people say they call more than three times a year. Each of these calls costs money – both from the IT team and also the loss in productivity of the user while they are failing to do what they need to get done.
The survey of 1,000 people in Britain was conducted by OnePoll in April 2012, on behalf of Avecto. Avecto is headquartered in Manchester, UK with key regional offices in Andover, USA. For more information, visit www.avecto.com.
