Managing the Organizational Impact of the World Cup

This year was the most connected World Cup, with football fever (soccer for some of you) making a huge impact on people’s lives, including their working lives. On B2C, we talked about the impact that major events such as the World Cup have on organizations, affecting everything from productivity to data security.

In “Don’t Fall Victim to a Mobile Own Goal,” we note that the World Cup is the first time that football fever is likely to be borne by work devices. Right now, the majority of employees use their work devices for personal activities. Given the frenzy to watch these games, and to connect with other fans on social media, here are 3 areas IT needs to be aware of during major events like the World Cup:

1. Socialising - 28% of employees admit to taking their corporate smartphone or tablet out for a night on the town. The potential for the device being stolen in these situations is very high.
2. Staying connected - how much does this impact productivity and how should your organizational policy shift?
3. Entertainment - accessing a variety of event apps and websites could lead to accidental download of a malicious app, virus or malware

Read more about these suggestions in full here.

These are real issues and they raise two points. Firstly, IT decision makers must decide on a policy or guidelines, and fast. Social media, streaming and app use can be easily managed and controlled on the corporate network using MDM software such as Absolute Manage. Overall, the immediate risks posed by the World Cup offered organizations opportunities to further educate the workforce.