The consumer world provides a large source of innovation for the tech industry. Unlike many enterprises, consumerization is known to be extremely usable and exert low barriers to participation. As we head into the future, enterprises that do not consumerize their application portfolios are going to see a drop in usage and adoption. Previous users will search for easier to use applications that yield more productive results.  

It is challenging for companies to apply consumerization to IT. Third party vendors provide the majority of the user experience. For companies that use a third party, both usability and barriers to participation depend on when the third party overhauls apps. Additionally, many consumer apps are not enterprise ready at this point in time.  

ZDNet’s suggestion: To start a program, have your IT department partner with a larger company. Distribute the workload with your partner in areas such as certifying SaaS, cloud and mobile apps, and training workers in various tech specific areas. For longer term, infuse your existing IT programs with user experience and fresh ideas from the consumer world. ZDNet believes this approach will drive more worker productivity, less user support, and higher innovation in IT solutions.  

Let us hear your thoughts. Do you think that consumerized applications can be useful in a business setting? Are you currently using consumer applications for your business needs (Think Google Apps or Amazon Web Services)? If enterprise applications start to mimic useful consumer applications, will employees prefer or be happy with the change?  

Friday: Big Data 

 Read the full article: http://www.zdnet.com/blog/hinchcliffe/the-big-five-it-trends-of-the-next-half-decade-mobile-social-cloud-consumerization-and-big-data/1811

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