A recent survey of IT professionals shows that Apple’s iOS mobile operating system is more popular in the workplace than BlackBerry or Android. The survey polled 768 IT professionals in five countries – the US, the UK, Canada, Germany, and Japan – with the goal of learning about mobile trends. The specific focus was on the kind of data storage/access done with mobile devices and the security risks associated with mobile device usage.

The survey (PDF) found that iOS devices are the most popular devices on corporate networks. Thirty percent of devices were iOS, while BlackBerry came in a close second at 29%. Android devices were a relatively distant third at 21%, and Windows Mobile and Windows Phone came in at a respectable 18%.

Another interesting finding from the study is that IT professionals saw Anrdoid as the greatest security risk, followed by iOS, then BlackBerry. Also, 64% of respondents said that they had experienced an increase in security threats to their company’s system in the last two years, while 34% said they had seen no change, and 3% saw a decline.

Other interesting findings from the study include: 89% of respondents said that there were mobile devices connecting to their corporate networks; 65% allow employees to use their own devices; 71% said that the proliferation of mobile devices has increased security risks; and 72% said that careless employees present a higher threat to security than hackers.

RIM, the makers of BlackBerry, have just announced the appointment of a new CEO and President, Thorsten Heins. The timing of this report is interesting, in that it shows the kind of hole Heins has to dig RIM – which once held almost undisputed hegemony in the enterprise mobile market – out of in order to make the company more competitive again.