Companies that passively embrace BYOD, mobile and social media risk falling behind, claims industry think tank
A new report from AIIM, a global community of information professionals, warns IT managers and CIOs against complacency regarding new IT practices such as Bring Your Own Device (BYOD), the adoption of mobile IT, and the social media phenomenon currently invading the workplace.
The report states that organisations taking a softly-softly, wait-and-see approach to these IT practices will miss out on the productivity, efficiency and cost saving benefits on offer.
Andrew Graham, director of AIIM UK, said the consequences of UK organisations failing to actively develop and aggressively implement modern IT innovations such as BYOD could be significant and long term. He said: 'Many firms are either taking a wait-and-see approach to these technologies or are dismissing them entirely. Such caution or ambivalence could set many organisations back in terms of competitiveness and, ultimately, have a knock on effect on the UK economy.'
The report, which explores the disconnect between the fast, cool, bordering-on-free technology that is used at home, and the alleged slow, un-cool, overpriced technology used at work, found that organisations were best positioned to capitalise on the impending disruption that these technologies bring if they did three things: acknowledge consumerisation of IT as more than a technology shift; listen to their employees; and re-think the historic role of IT.
Developing a strategy that puts the user experience first and allows users to take the initiative, rather than revolving around the device or organisation, are also key to the long term success and inevitable ubiquitous adoption of consumer IT in the workplace, the report shows.
The report concludes that the winners will be those who can capitalise on these strategies the quickest, Graham noted. He added: 'According to Gartner, the consumerisation of IT will be the most significant trend affecting IT for the next 10 years. This means that breakthrough thinking, value creating innovation and calculated risks have never been more important to achieving competitive differentiation than in today's economy.
'With the consumerisation of IT and BYOD, the sea change in expectations being placed on IT staff is real and irreversible, and organisations across the UK must seize the opportunity as soon as they can.'
