The Consumer Effect

The "consumer effect' is hitting the enterprise.

This is happening in multiple ways and goes well beyond reaching out to consumer customers through the devices and applications they use, or accepting the iPhone as an enterprise mobility tool..

For example, music players such as iPods (and features of cell phones) are becoming important employee educational and communications tools. Netbooks are becoming business tools squeezing in on laptops. Social networking which had its beginnings in the consumer space are likewise entering the enterprise space, and are increasingly being viewed as part of the UC space. What's interesting is that in many cases, employees want to the use these capabilities for both business and personal use.

Bottom-line: IT needs to understand that the personal and business identities of employees are blurring and that it must accept the inevitability of the consumer effect, and address security and other policy issues associated with it.

Opportunity knocks to lower costs, and increase employee effectiveness.