The workforce constantly changes with each generation. The current generation entering the workforce grew up with the internet and increasing amounts of consumer technology. Their reliance on consumer technology shouldn’t be seen as a detriment but as a great opportunity for your technology to evolve with the times. Reconstruct the idea that consumer technology is just for play and instead see it as a driving force for improving workplace efficiency.
How Does This Affect Your Business?
The divide that once existed between business and consumer technology is slowly dissipating. As the workforce constantly gains access to technology, employees will want to bring or use their own devices at work. It has become common practice for an employee to bring their own software and equipment to their job. Business technology will be affected by the design philosophies of consumerization: the need for intuitive structure, user-friendly software, and the shared knowledge that comes with it. Thus your business’s technology should reflect and keep up with the consumer technology that is prevalent today.
No one likes to read long manuals. The days of referring to a Dummy’s Guide are over as more and more consumerized technology becomes easily available. Consumerization aims for simplicity while retaining functionality. This philosophy will affect business technology greatly as it stresses the need for technology that is intuitive and readily accessible to everyone.
Consumerization Is Already Shaping Your Business Technology
Business technology aims to improve efficiency and productivity. While consumer technology and the idea of consumerization may seem in opposition to the ideals of business technology, this is not always the case. Consider consumer technologies that the modern workforce has become acclimated to. Functions like cloud sharing and online collaborative spaces are now a given in any modern business. In other words, the need to find a solution for employees to casually and effectively communicate was answered through cloud sharing. This goes to prove the standard in consumerization will affect the technology of your business as such.
Consumerization also affects your business technology by changing the way communication between employees occurs. UCaaS systems are a great example of how business technology has adapted to consumerization. Opening up communication between employees and streamlining the process to allow for scalability are key factors of any consumerized business technology. Collaboration can be simple and effective while retaining a BYOD and casual atmosphere.
The concept of consumerization should be embraced instead of feared. Business technology will definitely be affected, but the outcome does not have to be negative. As the shift towards consumerized technology becomes the norm, it’s important to innovate and keep up with what your employees will be using to help them navigate their jobs. Optimizing business technology to reflect the design philosophies of consumerization can be immensely beneficial with the youthful workforce of today while immensely improving office efficiency. As consumerization continues to take hold over the industry, the need for inherently simple, meaningful, and humanistic business technology will follow.