Innovation: Preparing for a post-PC world

News Article -- January 24, 2012

Think different

Firms are beginning to realise many of their most cherished practices and assumptions about enterprise IT are about to be radically altered. Touch-enabled devices are both physically different and demonstrably better than existing enterprise equipment for many tasks. They are capable of increasing employees’ flexibility and bringing fun into the working environment.

The PC presented itself as a left-brained puzzle. The difference with post-PC devices is that they engage the whole brain, not just one hemisphere, therefore stimulating productivity. Thanks to their simple, intuitive interfaces, these devices break through barriers and demystify the previously complex world of computing. The stories of small children learning to use iPads are now widespread.

A new report from CSC’s Leading Edge Forum (LEF), ‘Preparing for a post-PC World’ looks at the phenomenon. The researchers predict a future with more and more internet-connected devices, and an increasingly IT-savvy population typically using some of these devices to connect with cloud services over wireless broadband. The combination of cloud, mobility and social media is creating a new platform with enormous potential for game-changing applications and firms need to be prepared.

The report details how some businesses are already successfully embracing dramatic change, while giving advice on how best to manage it for those embarking on the journey.

In the last two years this ‘consumerisation’ of technology has gathered speed. This is due in part to employees’ increased knowledge of both the business and the technology relevant to their jobs and the enthusiasm of the new generation of CXOs who actually like iPhones and iPads in a way they never did PCs. And they are expecting their IT departments to integrate and support new devices across the board as soon as they launch.

Bring your own technology (BYOT)

In the post-PC world employees will be competing with people globally who are talented and willing to work for a fraction of what they are paid. So, employees will come equipped with their own devices. Clearly, they are willing and even expect to spend their own money to improve their future.

When computers were expensive, it made sense for organisations to buy them and manage the updates, backup and support. Volume corporate discounts and centralised support services are no longer cost-effective for most firms.

Faced with the prospect of refreshing 20,000 PCs, Australian insurance company Suncorp concluded that the best course was not to do it. A number of executives at Suncorp are consumerisation activists, including its CIO, Jeff Smith. In an interview with The Australian(1), Smith said Suncorp’s goal was to prevent infrastructure constraining people’s innovation and ingenuity. He told the newspaper: “We don’t want to have the device be a constraint on how people want to work. Where we typically had a locked-down model on desktops we want any type of device to connect to our networks.” Suncorp’s solution includes Citrix and open source software.

Employees will increasingly be expected to be more self-sufficient, especially where they own the equipment. In this new environment, IT organisations will need to share decision rights with employees and recognise workers may have a sophisticated understanding of their technology needs. So, sharing insights about products and policies with them can help make better decisions. IT can become more of a teaching organisation and refocus its energy on value and data management, instead of configuring and locking down laptops.

Flexible working

In a post-PC world, working in the office will be more like working at Starbucks – wireless, mobile, authenticated and browser-based. On those occasions when you need to connect to a corporate server, you can use an SSL VPN to connect you not to the corporate network, but directly to the application you require.

The IT department will even encourage the use of free consumer technologies like instant messaging and Skype, and business broadband networks will be increasingly superseded by cheaper and faster public networks.

World leaders

These changes are coming right from the top. President Barack Obama, a known Blackberry addict, also uses an iPad 2, which he received personally from Steve Jobs. President Dmitry Medvedev, who regularly tweets from his iPad, is the main instigator behind a new Russian tablet, being developed in conjunction with Silicon Valley for use in schools.

Obama’s comment on Jobs’s recent death that: “there may be no greater tribute to Steve’s success than the fact that much of the world learned of his passing on a device he invented,” underscores the reality of the Post-PC age.

Focus

Safety in a post-PC world

The post-PC world may imply reduced overall security, but the opposite is much more likely. When devices are connected to the internet and only ‘tunnel in’ for legacy access, the security perimeter shrinks dramatically, making it easier to monitor and defend.

The traditional approach of securing systems inside the firewall is at odds with the increasing need to connect with partners and customers outside the organisation. In such cases, less control does not have to mean weakened security. Many of your business partners may well be better at IT security than you are.

Security is too often viewed as a technology problem. In the post-PC world, employees will also be an important part of detecting if and when systems have been breached.

Employees will increasingly be choosing their own technology, including hardware, software and utilities.
In exchange for this freedom of choice, they will have to accept increased responsibilities. So, if employees choose not to encrypt the hard disks on their personal machines, they may have to agree to restrict the kinds of data that they put on those machines, or the countries they take them to.

Today, executive management and the board expect 100% success in protecting systems. This is unrealistic. Instead, they need to understand the likelihood and the impact of a security risk, together with the capabilities for mitigation.

IT departments need to get the cost/benefits balance right when considering the risk of consumerisation and learn to say ‘yes’ more often. They need too to look at the costs of their current risk position and consider if they are being too cautious.

Business-building applications

Companies are increasingly finding innovative ways to use the iPad in their daily business activities. Early adopters include United Airlines, who will introduce 11,000 iPads in the cockpit by the end of this year. The iPads, or so-called electronic flight bags (EFB), will be used by all United and Continental pilots, to replace traditional aeronautical charts and manuals, which can now be accessed via a special app.

British Airways too is introducing iPads on its aircraft, this time for their cabin crews. Bill Francis, British Airways’ head of in-flight customer experience, commented that: “The iPad is already allowing us to offer a more personalised onboard service, but the possibilities for future development are endless.”

And Hyatt Hotels & Resorts, whose headquarters staff are already enthusiastic iPad users, is now in the process of deploying the iPad throughout the organisation, enhancing everything from registration to in-room services.

Customer-friendly iPads are making their mark in retail too. At the high end of the market, Hermès is equipping its stores with iPads loaded with a catalogue of its home furnishings collection, which is normally difficult to display fully in its shops.

French sportswear clothing retailer Eden Park is looking at providing iPads in its shops too; loaded with information about the brand along with a fun virtual reality application that customers can use to ‘try on’ items and see if they suit them instead of going into a changing room.

3 Questions to Doug Neal and Jim Ginsburgh: Brave New World


Doug Neal	Jim Ginsburgh

We’ve been WIMPs (Windows, Icons, Menus, Pull-down interface) for too long. It is time for new ways of working, say the authors of CSC’s Leading Edge Forum’s report – Preparing for a post-PC world – Doug Neal and Jim Ginsburgh. They explain how the post-PC world will change the way we work forever.

> Read the full interview

(1) - The iPad is starting to make work and business mobile, The Australian 22 February 2011.