Press Release

Social media shunned by CIOs as 67% block Facebook

25 July 2012

European CIOs are shunning the benefits of social media for business, reveals a study from Easynet and Ipanema Technologies. CIOs risk alienating customers, creating ineffective marketing strategies, demotivating staff and eliminating their competitive edge by not embracing social media. The research, ‘Killer Apps 2012’, showed that:

• 67% of European CIOs and IT Directors said they block Facebook
• 60% block YouTube
• 49% block Twitter
• 56% block all online video

Lisa Myers, CEO of SEO & Social Media agency Verve Search, said: “It’s a risky business to block social media networks and I’m genuinely shocked at the statistic showing how many companies do this. The Return On Investment for social media is that your business will still be here in five years’ time. Half the human race is under 30, and has never known a world without the internet. For these people the internet, and social media along with it, is a way of life. Businesses need to embrace power of social media, and use it to improve their staff retention and their customer experience, not fight against it.”

“The gap between Generation X and Generation Y is becoming a chasm,” said Justin Fielder, Easynet’s CTO. “This isn’t just about attracting and retaining young talent, it’s about how best to create a dialogue with, and retain, your customers. Social media is oxygen to anyone under 30 and it’s vital for communication, education and information. It has huge implications on business success”. He continues, “Business leaders – usually Generation X – have to understand this or they will find the future of their business in jeopardy”.

Thierry Grenot, Executive Vice President at Ipanema Technologies, says “Microsoft’s recent purchase of business social networking site Yammer demonstrates the importance of social networking in the workplace, but it seems that European CIOs have some catching up to do.” He continued: “Many of the anticipated challenges caused by employee usage of social media such as its impact on the corporate network have been solved, so it’s time for CIOs to look again at their policies in this area.”

Justin Fielder agrees, saying, “A few of our customers have expressed concerns about the blurring of the network edge when staff  want to use their own devices to access social media, but there are simple precautions they can take without the need for drastic measures like blocking social media access”.

Fielder and Grenot suggest CIOs carry out an ‘Application Performance Audit’ on their corporate network so that IT departments have a clear view of network traffic, its business priority and its bandwidth implications

- Ends -

Notes to Editors

About the research

The ‘Killer Apps 2012’ report has been compiled based upon online field research conducted in March and April 2012 with 550 unique respondents consisting of CIOs, IT Directors, IT Managers and Network Managers. Respondents are employed within large businesses across Europe. Responses were drawn from the UK, France, Spain, Italy, Belgium and the Benelux region. To view the video click here and to download the White Paper click here.

About Easynet Global Services

Easynet Global Services is a network, hosting and cloud integration business. It has customers, employees and offices in every continent, and combines global reach with local expertise, providing a personalised experience wherever its customers are in the world.

Customers include EDF, Sage, FOX, Yakult, Transport for London, Bridgestone, Q Park and Campofrio.

Together with the management team, Easynet is owned by LDC (Lloyds TSB Development Capital). LDC is the leading mid-market private equity arm of Lloyds Banking Group.

For more information visit www.easynet.com

Follow us on Twitter: @easynet. Connect with us on Linked In: Easynet Global Services

About Ipanema Technologies

Ipanema provides enterprises with a direct connection between application performance and their business requirements. With Ipanema Technologies, enterprises automatically understand which applications use the network and deliver guaranteed performance to each user. Enterprises can support their strategic IT transformations (cloud computing and Unified Communications) and control Internet growth while reducing their IT expenses. Ipanema’s customers range from mid-sized companies to enterprises with 1,000s of sites. For Enterprises, Ipanema is available as a Product through an international network of Certified Channel Partners, and as a Service through Managed Service Providers and Telecom Operators' Managed Services. For SMBs, Ipanema is available as a Service through Ipanema's AppsWork Authorized Partners network. For more information, visit:  www.ipanematech.com