Consumer and workplace technologies: Embracing the gray area

The line between consumer and business technologies continues to blur, and vendors with roots in both markets appear to be intent on accelerating the trend. The recent unveiling of the Windows 7 Phone Series platform is one of two examples out of Microsoft alone. The mobile platform is said to make devices resemble the immensely popular iPhone, but it also provides an Office "hub," making it more practical, in theory, for work.

The Redmond, Wash., software maker has also announced a concerted foray into social networking through partnerships with Facebook and MySpace. As the company noted upon announcing the initiative, the integration of Outlook with Facebook and MySpace will enable users to connect simultaneously to co-workers, colleagues, friends and family. Whether this enhances the productivity value of the flagship productivity tool remains to be seen.

The smartphone and social networking tools epitomize the challenges that consumer technologies can bring to the enterprise. Employees, particularly those in the younger set, are accustomed to using the latest gadgets and widgets in their personal lives, and they want to use them at work as well. This can create endless headaches for IT departments, which face more than enough security challenges without spending precious resources managing a growing roster of devices and applications.

For CIOs, the overlap of consumer and business technologies creates a dilemma: You can try to ban smartphones and social networking in the workplace, but it won't improve morale and it isn't likely to work. A number of analysts are advocating the opposite approach.  According to Gartner's Mark Raskino, the "consumerization" of IT is no longer a minor annoyance but a business force that companies should address head on. Sharyn Leaver of Forrester recommended in a blog post that rather than trying to hold consumer technologies at bay, CIOs dive in and explore their potential to offer strategic value.

It isn't necessary to welcome onto the corporate network every new gizmo that comes along. But a willingness to consider whether a wildly popular personal technology might be put to productive use may prove more effective than trying to maintain an increasingly tenuous distinction between consumer and workplace technologies.

As I get settled in as editor of FierceCIO, I'd like to ask you for some feedback on the subjects we cover. What topics would you like to read more about, and what topics have you grown weary of? Are there stories you would like to see more follow up on? Send me your thoughts, and I'll do my best to deliver the news you need most. I look forward to hearing from you. - Caron