BYOD is here, and there is no getting around it -- no matter how much IT departments might be afraid of it.

That's clearly the case, especially after a new report from Forrester Research this week, which found that overall 53 percent of employees are using their own technology for work purposes -- a five percent increase from last year. That might not seem like much, but it's really just the beginning.

Forrester argues that this trend is pretty much irreversible at this point. Funny enough, they point to senior executives as the primary culprits leading the way, probably to the chagrin of most IT managers trying to figure out how to manage all of these extra devices on different platforms securely on one network. Forrester found that 77 percent of executives buy their own hardware and 45 percent do the same for software.

Furthermore, Forrester predicts that within 36 months, most companies will just get over BYOT (bring-your-own-technology) frustrations and accept it -- to the point where it will become standard policy and a requirement for new hires.

Historically, workers have paid out of pocket for training, conferences, and additional education to help them in their jobs and elevate their career status — occasionally sharing those costs or getting reimbursed by their employers. The BYOT trend is following a similar pattern. Increasingly, employees are making their own technology purchases for a blend of personal and work use and pushing their firms to purchase new technology to help in their jobs.

For reference, the report is based on Forrester’s Forrsights Workforce Employee Survey conducted during the fourth quarter of 2011. Researchers polled 9,912 information workers in Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, the Philippines, Russia, Singapore, the UK, and the US from SMB and enterprise companies with 20 or more employees.

Graph via Forrester Research

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