The ITSM, Productivity, iPad and Enterprise Mobility Conundrum

I know, I know….how many more eye-catching buzz words could I have possibly put in to the title of this article?  Do bear with me at the end of a short week (at least here in North America).  I’m sure you’re also asking yourself why am I using this photo with this entry.  More on that later.

I just came across an absolutely fabulous article at Enterprise Efficiency by Cliff Bell called “IT & iPad: Friends or Foes?“  It’s a very good and relatively short read – even with my quasi-ADD, I was able to read the entire thing.  The short version:  Is the IT department going to sit back and watch its workforce have the iPad and like tablets invade the workplace, or will it instead be proactive in this upcoming onslaught.

Brilliant….hence why I have such a catchy title, because the article speaks to all these issues.

• The iPad:  I was quick to admit I was wrong about the iPad.  I saw this when I went to the Kool-Aid fest better known as the Apple WWDC.  Sure it was all fan boys, but they were talking about some real enterprise class opportunities for the iPad.  Surely other tablets will come out and be adopted, depending on whether you prefer Android, webOS or whatever.  This transformation is happening right before our eyes.
• Productivity:  Just like I have been a big fan/evangelist for some time now of task-centric mobile applications (as opposed to monolithic “mobile” applications), I now believe we’re reaching a point where we are going to have an open mind to task specific hardware.  That means you will have your smartphone for certain tasks, then you’ll have a tablet when you’re on the road for a couple of days, and your laptop may very well completely displace for the need of a desktop…especially when you are shlepping the thing to and from your office on a daily basis.  I’ll make the argument also that productivity is in many respects synonymous with convenience.  Convenience makes us do things better and faster….isn’t that productivity?  We’ve had for some time SOME applications that have made our lives more convenient (e.g., mobile email).  Now we’re getting to the point where the hardware is playing catch up, which will eventually open up the flood gates to even more “convenience apps.”
• Enterprise mobility: Obviously this ties back into the productivity bullet above.  The task specific hardware I mentioned earlier is all about the mobility of your workforce.  We’ve always talked about the power of enterprise mobility being the notion of doing things at any time or place that was convenient.  Now add to that “any device.”  Tablet, laptop, abacus, ruggedized device, whatever.  As long as it’s the most convenient tool for the specific task you have to complete at that very moment.  Welcome to the nightmare better known as enterprise mobility management.
• ITSM: And this is where it goes full-circle.  ITSM, at the most ethereal level, is a Can Do vs. Can’t Do attitude.  It’s all about a change in mindset within an IT organization where they are intimately involved within the actual business processes of the organization and HELP put some procedural rigors to what the lines of business want to do from a technology perspective.  This is change management on steroids.  Let me quote one section of the article:
  

  “Will IT figure out how to use these devices to improve the shipping-and-receiving department’s productivity? Will it figure out a way to use videoconferencing so the engineering and R&D teams can roll out new products more quickly? Will it enable marketing to make real-time Website updates and to integrate social media technologies? Will it create new tablet-based applications designed to make the sales team more flexible and responsive?”

  My answer is an emphatic No.  IT should help the Line of Business figure this out.

So here’s your opportunity, Mr./Ms. IT manager to step up and become a rock star within your organization.  Are you ready to be a rock star (now you should understand the photo I used) within your organization and help your colleagues re-think how they go about your business?  Your chance is now.  Don’t let it pass by you!