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Apps: The Second Wave of IT Consumerization

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A Practical Strategy for IT Departments Seeking Greater Relevance in the Face of Rapid Consumerization of Everything

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In a recent corporate briefing to a mid-sized healthcare enterprise, the issue of app selection naturally surfaced in the Q&A session. This is not uncommon – my strategic briefings about iPad and the app-centric enterprise always evoke questions from executives and business managers who want to know which apps are best.

What wasn’t such a common occurrence in previous briefings was the obvious discomfort shown by members of the IT group who were vocally concerned about the freedom that mobile workers have been given in deciding which [consumer] apps they choose to perform [business] tasks. This is not an unreasonable concern.

While there’s little debate that provisioning of enterprise mobile devices has decidedly shifted in favor of consumer products, the debate concerning mobile apps hasn’t even begun. However, the consumerization of apps – indeed software chosen by workers, not the enterprise, and certainly not IT – is likely to create a much larger impact across organizations than anyone realizes.

The consumerization of apps in business is already occurring and for the most part, the trend is undetectable because apps are considered personal choices for doing personal tasks. Unlike enterprise applications, apps are typically regarded as small, insignificant bundles of simplified functionality that are rarely, if ever, used for business, let alone mission-critical tasks.

The reality is that apps are increasingly being purchased and installed on mobile devices to address important business objectives for mobile workers. Many organizations are simply out of touch with this trend. Globally, apps are sneaking up on companies much the way unsanctioned desktop applications wormed their way onto PCs in the early 80s.

“Imagine an enterprise of 300 mobile workers each deciding which of thirty-plus apps they should acquire and use.”

The leading edge of IT consumerization is best managed with mobile device management (MDM) products and solutions, whereas, the consumerization of business applications (the trailing edge) is far more complex and may impact the enterprise in potentially unexpected positive and negative ways. It is at this nexus of app consumerization where a huge opportunity exists for IT organizations to reinvent themselves as a strategic corporate resource.

Today, the information technology (IT) department is in an ideal position to fulfill the need for expert mobile app coaching through role-based policy setting and new resource planning solutions designed to guide workers concerning their app choices. This is the emerging arena of a new type of ERP practice shaped specifically to avoid enterprise app chaos.

Certainly, the emergence and rapid adoption of consumer devices has already changed IT forever. The more important issue concerns the future – can IT groups recognize where this is heading and establish themselves as a key strategic resource that helps workers make good app choices?

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