When Computers really become Personal What is Consumerization of IT? The Consumerization of IT and what it means The term "consumerization" was first popularized in 20011 as a description for how innovation in information technology was emerging in consumer-based technology first, with the expectation it would eventually migrate into the enterprise. In other words, the increasing influence that consumers have on the technology (both hardware and software) we expect to use at the corporate workplace. From Business to Consumer Suddenly, PCs are everywhere. Employees telecommute, they bring their own laptops to work, they use smart phones and tablets to extend that work, and use cloud apps and social networking to collaborate and connect. As a result many people now find that their home based IT equipment and services are often more capable and less expensive than what is provided in their workplace. Users have higher demands for the IT tools they need; it is about functionality, user experience, productivity and freedom of choice. Thirty four years ago the first generally available personal computer (called a microcomputer in those days) was released by Apple, the Apple II, and in 1981 IBM brought us the Personal Computer (PC) for business usage. Since then the PC has been a device that has been adopted by both the consumer market (thanks to Microsoft and Apple) and the corporate market (were IBM, HP and Intel played a prominent role). Although both markets have been highly successful, there has always been a Chinese wall between these two markets. Now in 2011 the wall between these two markets is gradually being taken down as the border between Work and Play is getting less clear by the day. and from Consumer to Business With this, the trend for new information technology to first surface in the consumer market and then find their way into the enterprise is getting harder to neglect by Corporate IT professionals. However, there is still a perception among them that corporate computing is completely different from consumer computing. Corporate boards, regulators and IT professionals feel the need to protect their enterprise infrastructure against the Work and Play attitude to ensure proper functioning and with that effective management - of their corporate IT assets. The dynamic and personalized aspect of consumer technologies that sets the Work and Play culture has entered the enterprise already and corporate IT will need to embrace this trend. The challenge for (corporate) IT will be finding the right mix of corporate approved products & services and personal(ized) IT methods. This movement is better described as the Consumerization of IT (CoIT).
Accelerators of CoIT In the last couple of years, the acceleration of CoIT has become prevalent due to the maturity of several key IT trends and the embracement of two cultural trends. The cultural trends that effect the acceleration and the acceptance of CoIT are and The New World of Work. Based on current research there are also multiple IT technology trends that accelerate CoIT. Below are the IT trends we found to have the most impact on the adoption of CoIT. Cultural IT Cloud Computing Cultural trends 2 which was first described in 2005 is a different way of working and cooperation, supported by the latest technology. This is characterized by a great degree of flexibility - not being bound to a place or time - of the physical workplace. It concerns the renewal of the physical workplace, the organization structure and culture, the management style and last but not least the state of mind of knowledge workers and their managers. Many leading companies have implemented this behavioral change in working and have reaped the benefits like avoiding rush hours, reducing travel time, positive environmental effects and the (costs and time) savings for the company. The IT trend is directly connected to this cultural trend. Since the introduction of the Personal Computer, the focus has been on educating the youngest to become as comfortable with the technology as quick as possible. We have come at the point that the youngest generation of the corporate knowledge workers, have more understanding about IT then some established IT Departments. Next to this, was born and raised in the IT age; the 3 considers the IT tools they are used to work with at home or at school as a logical extension towards their working life. They do not accept that there is a wall between these two worlds as for them the phrase Work and Play has been a reality ever since they have been introduced on an early age to IT. They expect the same technological sophistication at work as they have at home. IT Trends As technology is becoming more and more ubiquitous, employees want the ability to be productive wherever they may be and are willing to work with a variety of different tools to make that happen. They are not willing to gently follow policies that dictate they have to sit in one place to get things done when they have been given no solid reason to do so. Laptops and increased speed of connections - for the most part, started the mobility trend and are still a major part of the mobile workforce tools according to a recent study done by IDC 4. Laptops freed the office worker from the physical location and allowed them to stay connected to the corporate network everywhere. Telecommuting has become an important part of the everyday work life, as more and more people are working from home; coffee shops, beach, and any place they feel to be a mobile work location. These users expect to have a consistent personalized workspace wherever they choose to work; ultimately they would like their devices to be aware of the place, connection and surroundings and connect them to the resources available. Increasingly, IT management is called on to provide support for employees own devices. A recent study from Citrix 5, showed that today, 28 % of the devices used by employees to access business applications are ones they own themselves, including home PCs, laptops, smart phone s, and tablets. This BYOD trend is driven by increased productivity, enhanced job satisfaction and cost-efficiency. workers and current students are two major groups with a huge influence now and in the future on the BYOD trend.
Impact trends on CoIT Cultural IT Cloud Computing All these devices come in many sizes and flavours and people have particular preferences, including making their personal laptop their business laptop to simplify things. The users expect that IT management will provide them with the corporate applications and functionality in a seamless way to their self owned devices, without restricting them in their workspace on their device. Computers do not longer come in "one size fits all" configurations. Users move among laptop computers, tablets and smart phones to access their email, video, instant messages, applications and the rest of the communication forms that they use in their digital life. The discussion regarding which device is better, is in essence a non-discussion for many users because they understand that different devices have different use cases and that all can be used at one time or another. They expect the same diversity in the corporate IT ecosystem of today and push their employers to use and support all of these devices within the corporate environment. And if the corporate IT group is not equipped or to slow to embrace device diversity, they have the knowledge (especially ) to work around that issue and find a way to use their preferred (consumer) apps and/or their own device anyway. can be seen as a key driver of CoIT. It has proven its usefulness in the past years and comes in many flavours these days: Application virtualization, Server virtualization, Desktop, Storage and many more. All with the same goal: to separate the functions in the IT Infrastructure layers and enabling these to work independent from each other. The proven benefits of building and delivering virtualized infrastructures in a fraction of the time and costs of physical environments lead to a decrease in capital expenditure. At the same time the adoption of virtualization delivers a considerable increase in the Return of Investment for companies who have implemented virtualization solutions into their organizations. technologies like Application and Desktop are also strong enabling factors for BYOD and Cloud computing. Because of, IT departments can now deliver applications on a selfservice basis to their users, they get the control and can decide which applications they need and when they need it. Users can pick and choose the applications they need in order to do their jobs and add and remove applications on the fly. It is much like the experience of going to Google and choosing the applications you want or adding applications from the applications tore on the fly with smart phones. This is the experience that employees, especially the Y-generation who are now entering the workforce, increasingly expect from corporate IT, because they are used to it in their everyday life. Cloud computing Cloud services come in many flavours these days; Software as a Service like Salesforce CRM or Software plus Services like MS Office 365. The one thing they all have in common is that they are accessible from anywhere with an internet connection. As they become more and more inexpensive, ubiquitous and secure, it will be difficult for companies to (completely) ignore the possibility of using cloud services. Cloud computing lets businesses outsource data storage, applications and even their entire data centres to third-party vendors. This shift can result in cost savings for electricity and office space, fewer calls to the helpdesk and fewer inhouse servers for IT departments to maintain.
Based on a recent study of IDC 6, 44% of organizations (in the Netherlands) are currently using or deploying a form cloud computing, being it for office workers with Google Docs/MS Office 365 or file sharing with Box.net/Dropbox or CRM with Dynamics online/salesforce.com. It is inevitable that Cloud services have become a big driver for CoIT. Social networks are finding favour among employees who discover them in their personal lives and increasingly use them for work. A recent study of Forrester 7 shows, that as these services increase in capabilities, they form the new workflow for business transactions, reporting, and communications and are often acquired outside of the IT departments. Social networking applications like Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and LinkedIn are part of everyday life of consumers. As technology plays an increasingly important role in everybody s personal life, users are used to communicate on Social Media platforms and receive real-time information on their devices, embracing these technologies by corporate IT is critical to not breaking these new, yet established communication channels into the corporate communication. Considerations with CoIT The IT department s monopoly on deciding which tool to use has ended, but the need to ensure security, reliability, compliance, and integration has not. Centralized management still matters in a world where users increasingly use Web-based applications and expand to include a greater variety of devices. Consumerization is forcing Corporate IT to alter their locked-down policies, selectively loosen sourcing and management controls over the devices and applications users are allowed to use, and fundamentally rethink how they will deliver services to their internal and external customers. Consumerization of IT ultimately will work, but it will need to be governed in a way that restrains business risks and creates new business opportunities. Conclusion The emerging trends in, BYOD,,, Cloud Computing and, are here to stay and will result in a broader perspective of CoIT which leads to Anywhere, Any Place, Any Device, Anytime and last but not least Any Connection. This broader perspective is not new, but with today s and tomorrows general available technologies, it is finally possible to realize. End-users and departments are choosing their own devices, selecting and using Software plus Services, applications and other cloud resources, and are generally bypassing the IT department whenever they feel like it. The dynamic and personalized aspect of consumer technologies that sets the Work and Play culture has entered the enterprise and corporate IT will need to embrace this trend to keep their advantage and prominent role in the organization. The trend of CoIT has a bright future. For IT managers, it s not a question of if but when they will embrace this model.
Note from the author As the thought-leader in Next Generation Workspace Management, Scense is ideally situated to enable the Consumerization of IT. In our next episodes of our popular white papers series, we will explore the specific benefits from Scense for the Consumerization of IT. If you found this whitepaper of benefit to you and/or your organization, feel free to contact us at info@scense.com About Scense By delivering dynamic applications in a personalized workspace to hundreds of thousands satisfied users worldwide, Scense already embraced the COICT trend early-on. Scense s unique patented technology dynamically configures Windows applications and provision them in real-time with the necessary personal settings to personalized workspaces. All your IT management challenges are addressed, regardless if they relate to virtual and physical desktops/laptops, application virtualization and delivery or virtualization of user profiles. All managed through one easy to use central management console for your entire IT desktop infrastructure. With Scense, end-users are empowered, but ultimate control remains firmly in the hands of the CIO. Simply Smarter Solutions in User Workspace Management - Simply personalize workspaces - Smarter and dynamic applications www.scense.com All information obtained has been gathered via desk and field research and is publically available: 1- by Douglas Neal and John Taylor of CSC's Leading Edge Forum in 2001 2-, by Bill Gates Microsoft 2005 3- The term Generation Y first appeared in an August 1993 Ad 4- Study of 2011 from research firm IDC, commissioned by Unisys 5- Global CITRIX BYO Index 2011 6- What's on the Mind of the Dutch CIO executive Age editorial briefing 2011 7- Study of 2010 from research firm Forrester, commissioned by Microsoft