The consumerization of IT or, that’s how I do it at home

by. Mike Satterthwaite

You’ve probably heard the phrase “the consumerization of IT” at some point in the last year or two. It’s a notion that many organizations recognize. But what does it really mean?

IDG Enterprise defines this consumerization movement as the propensity for users’ experiences with technology as consumers to impact their expectations regarding their technology experiences at work. In other words, we’ve become so accustomed to a certain user experience in our personal lives that we expect the same type of experience in our professional lives.

For example, if you are heading to dinner with friends and want to know which restaurant nearby has the best pizza or vegetarian food, chances are you know how to find that information rather quickly. We’ve become so spoiled with the volume of information available at our fingertips in our lives away from work that we expect the same thing while on the job. And with today’s dispersed workforce, accessing content from essentially anywhere is critical.

IT consumerization, coming soon to a company like yours

According to the IDG Enterprise Consumerization of IT in the Enterprise Study 2014, a whopping 83 percent of organizations plan to invest in mobile technology in the next 12 months. For some organizations, this means the addition of mobile devices for their workforce – whether it’s a smartphone or tablet device. Many even allow them to bring their own device to work.

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