Stewart van Graan is MD of Dell South Africa and GM of Dell Africa.

CIOs are being pressurised by employees and senior executives to open the corporate network to consumer devices.

There are five trends that have led to the consumerisation of IT:

1.     Social media as a business application: Social networks have become necessary tools for building work relationships and conducting business.

2.     The blurring of work and home: According to a forecast by Forrester, 41% of employers planned to implement telecommuting options in 2011.

3.     New mobile devices: Employees are increasingly coming to work with their personal devices.
4.     Shifting business models: The rise of social media, e-commerce and mobile devices has resulted in word of mouth influencing buying decisions.

5.     Employee expectations of corporate IT: Desirable hires don’t want to give up their devices, weakening the recruitment and retention capabilities of companies who refuse to accommodate them.

The pressure for change in most IT organisations will only intensify. Consider the following steps to implementing a consumerisation strategy:

Articulate your company’s end-user workplace and technology philosophy. Evolve security policies to protect data in a workplace where a variety of devices and applications are used.

Liberalise rules that prohibit business use of employee-owned technology. Launch enterprise applications that mimic the best aspects of consumer communication and social media.

Develop a business case for incremental investment by linking end-user technology strategy with human resource planning, facilities planning and business strategy.

The heart of the consumerisation trend is human desire: people want to work the way they live. Companies that adapt quickly will be better able to attract talent, execute new business models and enhance competitiveness. Why fight it?