Consumerization and Government – What Does It All Mean?
Author(s): venkatapathipuvvada
Consumerization of IT (CoIT) is slowly but surely proliferating in government, bringing newfound innovations with it. At work, at home and everywhere in between, tech-savvy workers and consumers are using the same powerful, widely-available devices and applications to stay informed, connected and productive in their professional as well as their personal lives.
Naturally, many are concerned that consumer devices and technologies lack the security, manageability and compatibility needed to integrate with existing federal infrastructures. However, the fact remains that resistance is no longer an option, and government agencies must learn how to best adapt to this inevitable, game changing trend.
Where Do We Stand
The first step to addressing the CoIT trend is to understand the current state within government, in order to help agencies figure out how to best implement consumer technology and still abide by stringent security standards. That’s why Unisys teamed up with International Data Corporation (IDC) to conduct the 2011 Study on Consumerization of IT, which asked IT managers and information workers (iWorkers) about their use of consumer technologies at work. The global results were not surprising.
Consumerization is increasing at an exponential rate. 40% of the devices iWorkers use to access business applications are personally owned—up from 30% in 2010.
Consumer devices have become a critical device for iWorkers. 53% of iWorkers surveyed say that mobile devices, such as laptops, smartphones and tablets, are their most critical devices for doing work, which is up from 44% in 2010. Moreover, 65% of iWorkers say that a mobile device will be their most critical work device in 2012.
The steep increase further demonstrates that consumerization is a trend that is here to stay, but what does this all mean for government?
The Future of the Government iWorker
Consumerization presents a few opportunities for federal agencies.
A Single Device for Increased Productivity: Government employees no longer need one device for work and another device for home. Not only is this more convenient for iWorkers, but it also empowers iWorkers to increase daily productivity.
Telework for Improved Employee Morale: Long commutes (a problem especially prevalent in the congested National Capital area) and work/life balance issues can often hamper employee productivity and morale. Many IT managers and employees place a high value on teleworking because it solves these issues by making it easier for iWorkers to work from home.
Technology Enabled Collaboration: Many individuals collaborate in their personal lives using consumer technologies like Skype, Yammer and group texting capabilities, among others. The same individuals do not want to go to work and be expected to collaborate using desktop computers and government issued telephones. CoIT enables government employees to collaborate on innovative platforms from anywhere at anytime, thereby also increasing employee productivity.
With bills like the Telework Enhancement Act of 2010, the CoIT trend has been a long time coming for government. Lesson number one for agencies is to acknowledge the current state of consumerization in government so that they can ready themselves with the security precautions needed to embrace the trend with open arms. How is consumerization impacting your agency today?
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