While I still need my laptop often enough, I did (and regularly do) all of these work-related things using the same "consumer technologies" that everyone carries around in their pockets (or in nifty little cases) – and it's commonplace. Everything I mentioned is very easy to do and to learn how to do – if you have any desire to.
For many years now, technologies that are developed and marketed for regular consumers (devices like phones, iPads, and GPS – or services like Google Docs, SMS, Dropbox, or Google Maps) have evolved into very effective tools for getting things done. These personal tools can often be more usable than their "enterprise grade" counterparts (which are often developed and marketed for technology departments, not for end-users).
There are a different set of perspectives at play between consumer and enterprise technologies. On a personal level, when you can't find your phone, your first thought is "crap, where is it?" On the enterprise level, when you can't find your phone, the first thought is "crap, what risks is this exposing everyone else to?" Both are good reactions, but the scope and perspective are different – and that different set of views is why there is often misunderstanding of needs between groups of people who are all trying to do the right thing.
Enterprise IT has been trying to come up with solutions to balance the deluge of consumer devices with requirements like security, risk management, and network performance. These are solid requirements that don't have any room for compromise. Unfortunately IT groups often do a poor job of communicating with users and come off as unnecessarily restrictive and unsupportive. Additionally, good solutions are still hard to come by.
TechCrunch just wrote about AT&T's "Toggle" service:
"If you’re not familiar with the Toggle service, here’s how it works. Once the mobile client is installed and fired up (AT&T is quick to note that it works on devices from all carriers), users will see work-specific web browser, messaging, calendar, and GPS apps meant to keep them productive and undistracted by their multiple versions of Angry Birds. IT departments are also able to sink their fingers into those Toggle-enabled devices to reset passwords, setting up work-related apps, and wiping work mode information if needed."
I can't say that the Toggle service will actually be user-friendly, or a good approach; but after all of the talk I've seen around the idea of addressing "Bring Your Own Device" or consumer technology in the workplace, it's nice to see some actual product offerings. Probably more exciting are the lessons that enterprise software is beginning to learn from consumer technologies. Workday is a good example of one such enterprise-level software solution that strives to be usable by regular people - while competing with giants like Peoplesoft.
Business Week has a good article about Workday's founders:
"The “Workday thing” threatens to upend the business—or enterprise—software market. It sells software that corporations use to keep track of their employees and finances. Normally such applications are expensive, a pain to use, and, because they become so entwined in a company’s operations, rely on a kind of monopoly of inertia. Workday’s software for filing expenses or approving a hire, on the other hand, is about as easy to use as Facebook. It’s an example of cloud computing, selling software as a Web-based service rather than a product customers install in their own computing centers."
Enterprise technology groups absolutely want to live up to the user expectations that are being set by excellent consumer technologies, but it's going to take some time to develop ways to do so responsibly (without compromising the more restrictive requirements of a business). It will be exciting to see how all of this evolves.
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