The increasing use of personal technology in workplaces is upending the corporate IT market

THROUGHOUT THE information age, the corporate IT department has had a stranglehold on office technology, with a firm hand on what equipment and software employees use in the workplace. They are now in retreat. Employees are bringing in the technology they use at home and demanding the IT department accommodates them. The IT department often complies. Some companies have even surrendered to what is being called the consumerisation of IT.

At Kraft Foods, the IT department’s involvement in choosing technology for employees is limited to handing out an allowance. Employees use the money to buy whatever laptop they want from Best Buy, Amazon.com or the local Apple store.

“We heard from people saying, ‘How come I have better equipment at home?’” said Mike Cunningham, Kraft’s chief technology officer. “We said, hey, we can address that.”

Encouraging employees to buy their own laptops, or bring their mobile phones and iPads from home, is gaining traction in the workplace. By being more flexible, companies are hoping workers will be more comfortable with their devices and therefore more productive.

“Bring your own device” or BYOD policies, as they are called, are also shifting the balance of power among electronics makers. Manufacturers good at selling to consumers are increasingly gaining the upper hand, while those focused on bulk corporate sales are slipping.

The phenomenon is upending the corporate market, which has traditionally hinged on electronics makers cultivating tight relationships with IT departments. Dell, Hewlett-Packard (HP) and BlackBerry manufacturer Research in Motion (RIM), have long dominated the workplace, but Apple and its consumer-friendly blockbusters – the iPhone, iPad and MacBook – have made major inroads.

It’s not just electronics. Various online services originally aimed at consumers are crossing over. Google is hoping people using its Gmail and Google Docs products will produce a guerrilla movement inside corporations strong enough to displace Microsoft.

Initially created for consumers, Google Apps now has four million businesses on the service, the company says. Skype, the internet calling service that started as a way to call friends at no charge, is pushing into the workplace. Dropbox, originally pitched as a way for people to store and share personal documents online, has also gained a foothold in businesses.

“Innovation is where you find it,” said Ted Schadler, an analyst with Forrester Research who follows technology in the workplace. “You shouldn’t reject things that make employees more productive, and if those things happen to be consumer technologies, so be it.”

Corporate IT departments often resist allowing consumer technology on their networks because of security concerns. Adding a hodgepodge of devices and services also complicates their job. But IT departments are gradually warming to the idea simply because their bosses left them little choice. The IT staff may grieve for their lost power, but they do it.

"They're over the denial and anger stage, and now are in the acceptance and 'How can we help?' stage," said Schadler, who co-wrote the book Empowered, which addresses consumer technology in the workplace. "What broke the camel's back was the iPad, because executives brought it into the company and said 'Hey, you've got to support this.'"

A survey of more than 1,700 technology workers earlier this year by Forrester showed how much of the equipment-buying decision rests with employees. Nearly half of the respondents said they had bought their work smartphone, while 41 per cent said their employer had paid; 9 per cent said the cost was shared between the two.

Netflix’s BYOD policy is based on the idea that employees know what is best for them. It also takes into account the blurring of the lines between work and personal time. “As long as they’re productive, innovative and engaged, we’re happy,” said Steve Swasey, a spokesman for Netflix. “It’s really about what’s comfortable for you as a worker.

For years, Kraft’s IT department operated as do most companies, by issuing laptops to employees. Inevitably, some workers grew frustrated with the lack of choice and being blocked from downloading certain kinds of software. Kraft Foods’ “bring your own laptop” policy started 18 months ago, and now about 800 employees receive an allowance – Kraft declined to say how much – to buy either a Windows or Mac computer. Workers who want laptops that cost more than their stipend must pay for the difference out of their own pockets.

Kraft’s programme is not quite companywide. Executives who handle confidential information, people who use laptops to operate production equipment, and most factory workers are ineligible. “It’s a relatively small part of the company,” Cunningham said about the pool of participants. “But it addresses the majority of the noise and complaining.”

Letting workers bring their iPhones and iPads to work can also save companies money. In some cases, employees pay for equipment themselves and seek tech help from shop staff rather than their companies’ IT departments. “You can basically outsource your IT department to Apple,” said Ben Reitzes, an analyst with Barclays Capital.

A similar BYOD programme at Citrix Systems, a software maker, saves the company about 20 per cent on each laptop over three years. Normally, the company would spend up to $2,600 (€1,860) to buy and maintain a laptop over that period. Of the 1,000 or so employees in Citrix’s programme, 46 per cent have bought Mac computers, according to Paul Martine, the company’s chief information officer. The rest bought Windows machines. “That was a little bit of a surprise.”

With its strength in consumer products, Apple is the obvious winner from more flexible corporate technology spending. Sales of Apple devices are strong, while the rest of the PC market is weak, although how many of its phones, tablets and laptops are for use in the office is difficult to say.

Meanwhile, sales at companies such as Dell and RIM that concentrate on corporations are stagnant or sinking. HP, which is the leading PC maker and is strong in consumer PCs, is considering jettisoning that business to concentrate on corporate software and services. It even killed off its TouchPad, which was to rival the iPad, and its mobile phones.

This retreat is happening because many of those companies are finding they are just not that good at selling to consumers. “What you’re seeing is that Apple’s approach is winning, and it is tough for the others to keep up,” Reitzes said.

Because of security concerns and data retention laws, some firms such as Wells Fargo do not let employees connect to corporate networks with their personal electronics. Protecting the bank’s customers is more important than any benefit accrued from letting employees use personal devices for business, said Jim Spicer, the company’s chief information officer of corporate technology and data.

However, Wells Fargo, like many companies, has expanded the choice of corporate-owned devices it issues to employees to include more consumer-orientated products, including Apple computers, iPhones and iPads. “The biggest challenge we have today is making sure that we don’t chase every device that comes along,” said Spicer.

– (New York Times service)