The most popular consumer-owned devices being used in the enterprise are Android and BlackBerry smartphones and Apple laptops.
Despite
perceptions that companies and IT leaders are hesitant to embrace the
consumerization of IT, a global survey by managed solutions specialist Avanade
found companies are in fact embracing the change, and it is executives at the
highest levels in organizations leading the charge.
Based
on a survey of more than 600 senior business and IT leaders conducted in 17
countries, the report challenges commonly held beliefs about the
consumerization of IT-including executive perspectives on Millennials as the
driving force, employee brand preferences and hesitance of business leaders to
embrace the trend.
The
report also found an unstoppable shift in the use of consumer technologies in
the workplace and significant IT investments being made to manage this trend.
Globally, 88 percent of executives report employees are using their own
personal computing technologies for business purposes today. Nearly
three-quarters (73 percent) of C-level executives reported that the growing use
of employee-owned technology is a top priority in their organization.
When
asked about the impact of personal computing technologies on company culture,
the majority of executive respondents (58 percent) said the greatest outcome
was the ability for their employees to work from anywhere, followed by their
employees being more willing to work after hours (42 percent). Less than
one-third (32 percent) of business leaders have changed policies to make their
workplace more appealing to younger employees. Even fewer (20 percent) believe
allowing personal computing technologies in the enterprise will benefit
recruitment and retention efforts.
"For
business leaders, the consumerization of IT has less to do with the worker and
more to do with the way employees work," said Tyson Hartman, Avanade's global
chief technology officer. "Our research shows that productivity and
anywhere access are rated significantly higher by executives over improved
employee morale or providing greater responsibilities to younger employees."
Though
media coverage has made iPhones and iPads synonymous with the consumerization
of IT, Avanade's survey found that while Apple is certainly a factor in the
consumerization of IT, it is far from alone in driving the trend. According to
business and IT leaders, the most popular consumer-owned devices being used in
the enterprise are Android smartphones, BlackBerry smartphones and Apple
laptops.
The
survey also indicated employees have evolved beyond straight content
consumption-checking email or Facebook-and are now increasingly using
mission-critical enterprise applications. When asked which applications and
services employees were using, executives cited customer relationship
management (45 percent), time and expense tracking applications (44 percent),
and enterprise resource planning (38 percent).
"Progressive
CIOs and IT organizations have moved from gatekeepers of consumer technology to
enablers of these innovative devices, applications and services to meet
employee needs and demands," said Hartman. "The consumerization of IT
provides companies with an opportunity to transform the role of IT from a
function focused on mitigating risk into a strategic enabler that leverages the
breadth of today's powerful consumer technologies to drive business results."
Nathan Eddy is Associate Editor, Midmarket, at eWEEK.com. Before joining eWEEK.com, Nate was a writer with ChannelWeb and he served as an editor at FierceMarkets. He is a graduate of the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University.
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