International CeBIT Summit: Gartner - Consumerization of IT – Consumers in the Driver’s Seat
by Sören Stamer March 14, 2007 at 05:56 PM
Today, I enjoyed a brilliant presentation from Peter Sondergaard, Global Head of Research at Gartner at the International CeBIT Summit, a one day conference “for CEOs and CIOs”.
Peter pointed out that many consumer technologies were rejected by enterprises in the first place: “Who needs an Apple Macintosh or a PC? We have terminals. Who needs a mouse? We have a keyboard. The Internet is only for nerds. Mobile phones are only for top management. WiFi is unsafe.” As a result, enterprises failed to deliver innovative services and produced a lot of frustration for their users.
And this is happening again and again: “I don’t have time to read blogs. Blogging is for teens. Second Life is only for people without a desirable first life.”
Peter made the point that this behavior is dangerous for enterprises since “innovation happens at the edge”. Innovations will flourish somewhere on the Internet, in communities, through mashups and driven by more and more powerful consumer electronics.
In sharp contrast, most IT departments still spend most of their budgets for harmonization of their IT stack, and for complex long-term projects to update their ERP system or to create something unique.
Peter also coined the phrase “Digital Immigrants” for most of the people in the room. Digital Immigrants have a 5 years plan, need manuals to understand technology, have a more directive approach to leadership, and use classical communication patterns. They grew up before the Internet emerged as the universal medium.
“Digital Natives” are very different. They do not need manuals to understand technology. I wonder if Digital Natives perceive technology as “technology” at all. They do multi-tasking and parallel processing, use multiple multimedia sources, interact, process pictures, sounds, videos and then text, like random access, learn and act just-in-time, expect instant gratification and instant reward, and practice participative leadership.
Digital Natives like to learn and to do what is relevant, instantly useful, and fun. They will be the workforce of the future.
Digital Natives want services instead of products. Therefore, Peter concluded:“Software is dead.” Software as a service is the way to go.
And enterprises should allow Digital Natives to buy their own devices to do their work. Give them the money and let them decide. As a consequence “IT departments have to support internal as external.” Every access to company information and services might be hostile.
Peter, thanks for your straight talk. It made a difference.
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Comments
We have already seen the effects from instant messaging demands, skype calling and itunes in the office. The evolution of business mobile devices has gone from the functional LCD phones, to the full colour screen, stylised devices with cameras, radios and media players. Case in point, the evolution of the blackberry has no doubt been driven by end user demands. Is an integrated camera, as seen the recent designs, an essential blackberry tool for the corporate worker?
All these new technologies must be supported, as if the IT staff were not busy enough. More importantly, the business network requires defending.
As with AOL IM virus (http://www.vnunet.com/vnunet/news/2145038/aol-hit-im-virus) a new technology can open the network to further risks.
As Rich Mogull, a research vice president at Gartner said "Although consumer technologies create new risks for the enterprise, eliminating their use is increasingly difficult and impractical".
The next step always seem to be buy in and integrate more counter measures. At what cost of time and effort and not forgetting capital.
The overall result is the network becomes more complex. Firewalls more poreus. System interrelations become more and more fragile.
Plus what policies do we implement? Who do we apply them to? Who is going to pull rank to be an exception?!
Wouldn't it be nice not to burden ourselves and our stretched IT resources with any remote access device that connects to the corporate network? Give users freedom to have machines exactly how they want them, and for us not to have to worry!
How much more secure would a network be if no users logged in there?
Posted by: Ron Wilkins | June 21, 2007 11:34 AM