Empowering the masses with IT tools is a continuous evolutionary trend in the world of consumer computing. 

The so called PC "Power Users" embraced the introduction of the IBM PC in 1979 and there was an instant adoption and borderline addiction to the hot apps of the times:  the Word processing programs ( DisplayWrite, Wordperfect, WordStar),  Spreadsheets ( Visicalc, Lotus 123 ), and Database programs ( Dbase ).  

This change in the allocation of computing resources caused some real pain in enterprise IT departments  as budgets were allocated for Mini and Mainframe computing, not microcomputers. Suddenly departments were demanding networked PCs and PC software purchases which competed directly with scarce corporate IT budgets. This trend is played out once again today as some business groups make independent Cloud Computing based purchasing decisions without consulting the IT department then later call IT for support when the Cloud based app does not integrate or work as promised.

As the hot apps of today move onto popular consumer devices such as smart phones and tablets, the world of enterprise computing is changing as are the challenges faced by both the IT department and the CIOs to once again manage these changes.

The evolution is clear, the technology focus is migrating from the back office applications (accounting, process management and ERP) to the front office ( analytics, marketing, sales and customer relationship management). 

This migration is partly about how companies are deploying newer and more sophisticated technologies throughout the organization, but it's also about how the people are empowered by their devices and the apps they are acquiring and using in newer and more sophisticated ways.

We recently reported on the proliferation of mobile devices and the growing demand on the mobile data carriers to keep up with bandwith requirements. Just as the mobile carriers are pushed to their limits, so  are the CIOs who in turn struggle to provide a secure infrastructure to manage what is described as the consumerization of IT within an organization.  This trend has been driven largely by the ubiquitous use of the Internet, mobile, and broadband technologies.

Here some key numbers which depict the consumerization of IT trend.  According to the U.S. Census Bureau:

By April 1, the population of the world will stand at 7 billion.

According to research from the market research site mobiThinking, as of January 2012:

The number of cellular subscriptions worldwide was approximately 6 billion.

The number of cellular mobile broadband subscriptions worldwide was approximately 1.2 billion.

The value of venture capital investments in mobile technologies in 2011 was $6.3 billion, approximately 42% of total budgets.

EBay expected customers to buy and sell $8 billion in merchandise this year, and PayPal expected to process $7 billion in payments.

Opportunities Arise from Consumerization

IT vendors and companies see great opportunities in moving from consumer to enterprise sales if they can embrace the needs of the consumer on their personal devices while facilitating their work responsibilites.

CIOs should look for an easy solution if one exists that fits their roadmap.

Companies like Google have a long-term goal to take consumer assets and bring them to businesses that are interested in changing how they operate because they see the kind of innovation that's taking place in the consumer space. Google, for example did this first with their search appliance, then with apps, then with maps solution. They are taking their technology assets and building enterprise versions of them.

CIOs are starting to embrace these services for the enterprise as they recognize the whole consumerization of IT has deep, profound implications. It's much more than bringing your own device to work.

It is bringing your device to work and using it as a weapon or tool to become more productive at your job so you can leverage your knowledge to beat your competitors by becoming faster, cheaper, abd better all while offering and more quality and value. The role of the CIO is to empower and lead the employees to use their consumer devices, but in a safe manner by minimizing both risk introduced by potential security problems.

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