The Consumerization of IT

Now is the time to reconsider your strategy

Maybe we have the BlackBerry to blame. Once the darling of the corporate world, companies steadfastly held on to the BlackBerry as their employees overwhelmingly purchased newer and smarter smartphones for their personal use. With the proliferation of ever more attractive –and cheaper– personal devices and apps, it was inevitable, then, that those devices became users’ preferred way to access the corporate network and run personal and work applications alike.

It’s called the Consumerization of IT, and for the past decade, it has challenged IT departments to protect corporate data while accommodating the devices their employees expect to use. A 2014 IDG Enterprise Consumerization of IT in the Enterprise (CITE) survey underscore that 82 percent of companies surveyed were already making changes, such as defining how corporate data can be shared, investing in mobile device management (MDM) solutions, and purchasing secure file sharing services.

Yet managing a mobile, open and safe network can be complex, and has long hindered companies with a rich application infrastructure from enabling broad access across numerous devices and operating systems, and improve collaboration amongst users.

Capitalize on the Cloud

Today, Social, Mobile, Analytics, and Cloud (SMAC) technologies are again changing the face of business and accelerating how companies can respond and adapt to users’ demand for simpler access to data, while ensuring the security of the company network.

These technologies include new collaborative business management applications, available on any device, accumulating and sharing data, and making that data rapidly and securely accessible over the Internet. One such application is Sage Business Cloud X3, a cloud-based solution delivering faster, simpler and flexible management of financial, supply chain and production processes, from anywhere in real time.

With one integrated and secure enterprise application, the management of an entire business can be supported on any connected device. Users are given the freedom to securely access company data in an intuitive web and mobile interface that they can personalize with widgets and collaboration applications they love to use.

By embracing the Cloud, companies can develop strategies to actually save money, increase business agility, bolster collaboration, foster faster decision making, and improve employee productivity and satisfaction. In fact, according to the CITE survey, 70 percent of respondents report that they have seen an ROI through the use of consumer devices in the workplace. Sounds like a trend-setting win-win, all-around.