Reasons why the consumerisation of the enterprise is no longer a question

When a company such as Apple, who popularised their iPhone line-up by marketing it specifically for personal use, starts marketing to a corporate demographic, it's a clear sign that technology is changing.

Despite the evident shift towards using personal devices in the corporate environment, some people still refuse to accept the change. As the corporate landscape changes, it will be important that companies learn why the consumerisation is important, and furthermore, how to use it to their advantage.

Qualified candidates expect it

The job market is becoming filled with more qualified candidates who offer companies much more in terms of innovation and new ideas. Top candidates are looking for careers with forward thinking companies that utilise technology and welcome creativity. By shutting the doors to the consumerisation of IT, companies become less appealing to change makers and future leaders.

This is part of the reason why companies such as Apple, Google, Qualcom and others have achieved such tremendous success. They are able to attract elite employees due to their innovative work environment.

Manufacturers have already committed

Once the companies who manufacture cell phones, tablets, and other technology started to add in business/enterprise features to devices, consumerisation of IT became unavoidable. There were already companies such as RIM who initially marketed their Blackberry devices to professionals. However, as we have seen with their rebranding, even Blackberry realises that the two functions should not be separated.

Apple has been making their new products more appealing to corporate users as well. The iPad has managed to infiltrate offices all across the globe. This is due to a wide range of enterprise applications that are available in the App store. The same applies to Android devices. The Google Play store is loaded with enterprise apps to help with business productivity, sales, and you can even turn your mobile device into a POS system.

Over 44% of companies already allow BYOD

According to Zdnet, over 44% of companies currently allow BYOD. They also estimate that this number will increase to 62% by the end of 2013.

These stats show that BYOD and the consumerisation of IT is no longer just a forecast; it is happening right now. The BYOD craze has really pushed the mixing of personal and enterprise tools forward substantially. Employees like the convenience, and employers are able to get more productivity as a result.

Part of the reason BYOD has been so well received is because it has become much easier to implement over the years. Initially, allowing BYOD created a wide range of security threats/issues that companies did not want to tackle. However, with MDM software, managing all of the different devices in a company's network is much simpler and easier to manage. Of the 44% of companies that currently allow BYOD, more than half of them have had their policy in place for over a year given them time to adjust and perfect their policy.