Organisations that let employees use their own laptops at work may be chasing savings that do not exist, according to research firm Gartner.

Gartner fellow Brian Gammage warned that higher support costs and compensation payments swallowed up the apparent hardware savings made by allowing staff to use a virtual machine installed on their own computers.

"Although total annual costs [for such projects] are typically equal to or better than for company-owned notebooks, the savings mainly occur in indirect costs," Gammage said.

"In all cases, the direct costs related to hardware, software and personnel are higher. This is driven by the additional compensation paid to the user in lieu of hardware acquisition and third-party maintenance and support."

Gammage said the true benefits of allowing employees to use their own hardware stemmed from increased staff morale.

He added that a locked and securely managed virtual machine also allowed IT managers to keep an eye on "rogue users" with position and influence who might otherwise ignore company policies.