* Is the adoption of new technologies in your firm catching up with you?
Our research in the instant messaging space has clearly demonstrated that IM systems entered the organization through the back door: although most IT departments now manage IM systems, most IM clients were initially deployed by end users who chose to use the technology mainly for personal reasons. Similarly, as we have discovered in a just-completed survey on mobile messaging, similar drivers are at work for mobile devices.
In a report that we will publish next week, we find that the primary way that mobile messaging has been adopted in the workplace is by individual users requesting these devices from their management, the IT department, etc. – nearly three out of four organizations report that this is the way that mobile messaging has been adopted in their organizations. Another two out of five organizations report that individual users have simply brought in their own mobile devices and begun using them for work-related applications. In only about one-third of organizations has mobile messaging been rolled out as part of a corporate initiative.
This points out a couple of interesting things. First, it indicates that the consumer space is having a significant and continuing impact on the workplace in the context of how technologies are adopted. IM and mobile messaging started in the consumer space and use in that sector continues to outpace use in the workplace. Younger workers who have grown used to IM, mobile telephony, text messaging and other technologies are having a growing impact on the adoption of these technologies as they constitute a larger share of the workforce over time.
Another conclusion that can be drawn from these findings is that IT organizations are not as proactive in driving technology adoption as are users and for good reason. IT departments are in a very difficult position: they derive relatively little benefit from an organization’s use of a particular technology, but bear most of the problems associated with its use and maintenance. As a result, IT organizations spend much of their time keeping the existing infrastructure up and running and have little bandwidth or need to push the adoption of new technologies that will make their job even more difficult.
I’d like to get your thoughts on this issue, particularly the second point. Please contact me.
