Lose IT control = productivity boost?

Consumerisation of IT may not be such a bad thing after all, after a survey by Block Solutions found that businesses which allow staff to use their own technology have enjoyed productivity gains of up to 20 per cent.

Although questions remain over what level of IT support service desks should offer to technology it doesn’t directly manage, the loss of control must be balanced against the potential benefits of increased output that research like this hints at. 

Yet the most interesting question is why is this new technology, which is bought off the shelf and works without direct integration with business IT, more conducive to working than the technology we have been supplying?  There’s no simple answer, but the obvious starting point is usability.  

Consumer technology providers tend to start from the perspective of the user - how can I enrich and improve the customer experience?  IT departments differ because the starting point is control - what assets do I have and how can I best protect them?

It is understandable that IT departments take the more conservative route.  If there was no control, security could be compromised, devices mis-treated and badly configured.  Ultimately, we exercise IT control because we need to manage costs, but by locking down technology, the user experience suffers.

Therefore, should we be re-evaluating whether the cost savings that our controlling nature realises are really worthwhile?  The research suggests that relinquishing absolute IT control helps improve productivity, but is this gain larger than the savings we already realise?

Every organisation is different and some will doubtlessly benefit from maintaining the present rigid IT structure.  But as IT leaders, we should be looking at the bigger picture, making our own calculations and deciding whether setting IT free will lead to business and financial gain.