Symantec unveils the half-million pound laptop

78 per cent of laptop users across Europe, Middle-East and Africa stated that the data on their device is of substantial value in terms of intellectual property or commercially sensitive information, with the average estimate being in the region of £550,000. Some respondents claimed that their mobile device was worth as much as £5 million.

The study also highlights that just 42 per cent of companies automatically back-up employees email on laptops, while 45 per cent actually leave backup to the users themselves. 80 per cent of respondents were under the misconception that their employer had a safe copy of all the emails on their PC.

"It's alarming that executives have mobile devices containing data of such financial value and that very little is being done to protect the information on them. The research shows that only a few organisations have measures in place to retrieve this information if their laptop is lost or stolen, which is very worrying," said Kevin Isaac, Regional Director, Symantec MENA.

"It is critical that businesses start looking beyond just the price of the hardware and recognise that they also need to invest in protecting the data stored on these machines."

Dynamic Markets conducted 1,700 quantitative interviews with general employees and IT managers with responsibility for their companies email system. All companies have 500 or more employees from a variety of sectors across Europe, Middle-East and Africa. 15 in-depth qualitative interviews were also conducted. The research took place in April and May 2005.