The rapid growth in the ‘Bring Your Own Device’ trend could be harnessed for Research & Development, suggests a new report from advisory business CEB.

It notes that 64% of employees already use their own technology devices for work purposes - but says ‘BYOD’ with tablets and smartphones is only the tip of the iceberg.

The next wave of this trend is expected to be less tangible: Bring Your Own Information, Bring Your Own Networks and Bring Your Own Applications.

According to CEB, more than 40% of employees already use ‘unofficial’ external information sources for work purposes: from Google searches to personal databases. It’s also found that 24% of employees have chosen their own collaboration tools, including shared cloud services such as Dropbox and Box.net, while 21% use non IT-supported analytic and data visualisation tools.

The recommendation from CEB is that IT departments should work with employees to understand the tools they’re using and to educate them about any risks. This offers a way to promote and share best practice rather than trying to prevent BYO activities.

Andrew Horne, Managing Director of the CEB CIO Leadership Council, said “Business-led IT is here to stay. CIOs should not see the BYO trend solely as a risk or as a symptom of underperformance by IT-supported tools, but rather an opportunity to find the very best tools to get the job done. No one is better placed to identify which tools will make employees more productive than the employees themselves. If managed correctly - and with official policies in place - it can provide faster access to new capabilities and a much better fit with individual employee workflows.”

Almost 10,000 employees were surveyed by CEB for its BYO study.