IT managers told: Don't block social networking

Analysts at the Gartner Symposium in Florida on Monday told attendees that corporate computing departments should not block social networking, and that security should not lock down communications with the outside world.

They added that IT authorities cannot shut down such activity if they want to. "Banning access to social media from the corporate network is futile," said Carol Rozwell, a Gartner vice president. "The world we live in is digitally enabled and socially connected."

The advice reflects the transformation of the IT world as the internet pervades more and more corners of everybody's life. Although the Gartner event has historically concerned itself with matters such as justifying the expense of a new enterprise-resource management computing system, the broadening show now reflects the growing scope of work IT managers face.

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