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Event wrap-up: Rise of the Business User
They’ve arrived and they’re here to stay. Consumer apps and devices are only going to become more common in the corporate setting, so companies are advised to embrace them.
This was one of the main messages from industry leaders and B2B startups gathered on October 18 in the MaRS Collaboration Centre for a panel discussion on enterprise IT and the effect of consumerization. The discussion was centered on the future of enterprise IT, and what it means for all the players involved.
IDC Canada analyst Nigel Wallis highlighted the latest in the bring-your-own-device (BYOD) movement within Canadian companies, advising CIOs to embrace this enterprise consumerization since it’s inevitable and ultimately what employees want.
Dennis Young shared his own personal experience of enterprise consumerization, relating how his company, T4G, launched apps for all of its major corporate applications, so employees could use the programs on their smartphones. In his world, this was being responsible and proactive.
For vendors, Wallis advised that they start by finding the right champion within a firm – whether it be a business unit or the IT department itself. According to David Priemer of the social performance platform company Rypple, one of the biggest challenges is overcoming the inertia that many companies face. “Companies continue to do what they’ve always done, and ignore things until they can’t anymore.”
B2B vendors face many challenges on the investment side as well. Daniel Klass of Klass Capital sees revenues being slow to crystalize for vendors focused on small and medium businesses (SMBs), and sales cycles being too long for those focused on large enterprise. “Technology is becoming so cheap and the barrier to entry so low, competition is really getting tough.”
This event brought together thought leaders from various disciplines to share their insights on the shifting landscape of enterprise IT. While the future of IT is still an unknown, the days of standardized hardware and locked-down software are most certainly over. As Wallis sees it, “Cloud and social are having a huge impact on business, but mobile is the next major force to focus on!”
Interested in learning more?
Check out our SaaSy Startups: 8 Ontario-based companies that are striving to consumerize enterprise IT.
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Neha Khera
Neha is an Industry Analyst at MaRS, helping tech-based startups better understand their industries, competitors and customers in order to grow and prosper. Neha is a graduate of Waterloo’s Electrical Engineering program, and holds an MBA from Richard Ivey.
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