How Consumer IT Trends Are Affecting Manufacturing Software

The “consumerization” of IT is significantly affecting how enterprise manufacturing technology is designed, and how organizations are restructuring their IT policies, particularly with respect to device and data access, and user experiences.

Pervasive consumer technology has formed habits and expectations on the part of users that have extended into their professional lives, namely the use of personal mobile consumer devices in a professional setting.

And this is why one of the larger trends rolling upward from the consumer market is the advancement and acceptance of IT strategies that embrace the use of these personal mobile devices. Known as a “Bring Your Own Device” (BYOD) policy and varying widely in acceptance and reach, workers are allowed to use their personal devices and erase (or at least blur) that line between work and play.

According to a study by IDG Enterprise, which surveyed over 1,100 respondents, 12 percent of which were in the manufacturing sector (second highest industry sector percentage-wise), corporate IT support for personal mobile devices is expected to increase significantly in the next 12 to 18 months, from 43 to 55 percent for tablets, and 52 to 55 percent for smartphones. And while this may be welcome news for tech-savvy workers, it's a trend that has complicated things for CIOs and CTOs.

BYOD initiatives have forced more detailed policies on how corporate data can be shared, investments in emerging mobile device management (MDM) solutions, and purchases of secure file-sharing services. Enterprises have had to weigh factors such as device ownership, tiered data credentials, remote data wiping, on-site/off-site access, and others into a comprehensive strategy that allows more worker flexibility while preventing disastrous data breaches.

To meet this need, software vendors are beginning to develop hybrid enterprise-standard and consumer-standard hardware that supports the type of detailed data accessibility architectures enterprises require today in keeping data secure.

Though this data security is a real concern, large enterprises with BYOD policies are already reporting they see increased levels of user satisfaction, productivity, and collaboration from these initiatives.

Consumerized IT applications will continue across manufacturing and the broader enterprise IT landscape. As a result, software manufacturers and end-users alike will devise newer and more involved ways of incorporating the most practical and popular functionalities of what is happening in today’s consumer market.