Silicom.com recently asked IT chiefs if they were planning to offer the iPhone as part of their range of corporate mobile phones. Admittedly, the sample was low, but ten of the twelve CIOs dismissed the iPhone for reasons ranging from expense and poor battery life, to security and even a fear of appearing profligate.

This is just one side of the story, and it doesn't mean employees won't use them for work. CISCO released details from a more comprehensive study earlier this year of 1,500 IT managers and executives. It showed that 48% said their company would never authorize employees to bring their own devices to work, yet 57% agreed that some employees use personal devices without consent. In the US, using personal devices without consent was highest, at 64%.

At the heart of this are employees' expectations and experiences around work. Many employees don't make the firm distinctions between work and the rest of their lives that CIOs seem to think they do. A clue to this is just how much people access work information whilst at home or on the commute via permissible devices. How people use their own mobile phones, tablets and laptops during 'work' time and for work illustrates how people bring 'work' and 'non-work' together, want to work flexibly, and self-manage. The opportunity for IT chiefs is to facilitate this change rather than try to stifle it.