What does all of this angst and distrust have to do with the information technology business? First, Enterprise IT is also an institution of knowledge and power that is accustomed to being in control. And it too is facing increasing scepticism, sometimes bordering on distrust. Employees no longer view IT as an exclusive priesthood, a set-in-stone system of governance, and the sole organizational source of IT wisdom and authority. In this sense, the consumerization of IT is just another manifestation of the populism described above. Employees and consumers are no longer intimidated by the views of anointed IT experts, especially if these experts are seen as out of step with IT as the consumer sees it, a realm of alluring social networks, sophisticated 99-cent iPhone applications, and ever-more essential and reliable community content.

In other words, it is becoming increasingly difficult to separate societal attitudes towards central IT from those associated with authority figures in general. And while in this and many other areas ‘populism’ is still mostly used as a pejorative term, this can be dangerous. History is on the side of consumerization, and the IT organization (and IT outsourcers) will have to adjust. As with all of the professions listed above, the need for deep IT expertise is not going away. It’s actually as important and useful as ever, but the context in which it evolves is changing rapidly, and the cumulative knowledge and capabilities of the masses can no longer be dismissed. We have written about this frequently in our consumerization research, arguing that Central IT will have to find ways to share both its expertise and its decision rights, and make consumerization work in their firm’s favour. This will require new ways of establishing business, societal and digital trust.

Pages 1 2 3 4 5 Next