Consumerisation of IT

There’s been a lot in the press during the last week about IT consumerisation, and how IT departments might become extinct if they continue a line of ‘command and control’.

In an ideal world, we’d let users buy whatever hardware and software they see fit to do their jobs. In certain environments this may actually work, but I imagine that for the most part, this would be a costly nightmare for the average IT department.

Is there a compromise? I think for the time being, allowing users to choose which software to use to process company data is something only the big players are likely to be able to achieve. If we let users buy their own hardware, you could consider providing a list of authorized devices.

If you don’t want to remove admin rights from a user’s PC, consider deploying a virtual desktop where you can comply with regulations and business needs for securing data. This way, you get the best of both worlds. It doesn’t have to be all or nothing.