You probably noticed that Nokia launched some really cool Windows Phone mobile devices like the Lumia 710 and Lumia 800 in October during Nokia World. I got a hold of the Lumia 800 in the UK. This is an impressive device and I’ve been really satisfied. I think Nokia could have a winner here. Last week Nokia and T-Mobile announced plans to launch the Nokia 710 in the U.S. on January 11, 2012. It will be interesting to watch market response.
During Nokia World I had the opportunity to speak on a panel discussing the impact of social media, mobile devices and what that means to businesses without borders.
About 200+ people attended the session, and the biggest question that came up in our discussion was this: is mobility and access to new forms of apps, cloud services and social channels – what many have labeled the consumerization of IT – really changing the way we do business or is it simply allowing us to do the same things in different ways?
Personally, I think it is changing the way we do business because the way we work is rapidly changing. It’s not as simple as just doing the same thing on a mobile device anywhere in the world. There is an expectation today that you can connect to anyone, anywhere, at any time… and that changes everything.
Here’s an example. On one of my recent travels, I received a message via LinkedIn from the CIO of a FORTUNE 500 company that also happens to be one of our customers. I had no prior direct relationship with this CIO when he contacted me to invite Avanade to get involved in an upcoming RFP. From my perspective, it was a clear test to see how socially connected we were as a company. I responded immediately through my mobile device while on the road, and got our Regional President connected to the CIO. Now we’re in deep discussions with that customer on a possible project.
Critics will say there’s nothing new – we’ve had email, notebook computers, Instant Messaging and so on for years. But to me this is more than a discussion about tools. Certainly tools play a role, but these new forms of devices, apps, as well as social and cloud platforms are giving us the ability to connect with people in much richer, more personal and pervasive– and faster – ways from virtually anywhere at any time. And in my CIO customer example, it helped me forge a new relationship with an existing customer, and opened up a sales opportunity in the process.
I’d say we’re on the start of a powerful journey. Do you agree?
I agree wholeheartedly. I’ve noticed in my personal business as well as at school that I am pushing and receiving information on the fly more and more frequently.
A fellow student recently approached me and asked to get a copy of my notes from class. I opened the Dropbox app on my smartphone, navigated to the file, and zipped it off to her in an email! The file wasn’t downloaded or created on my phone.
I’ve also used remote access applications on my smartphone to troubleshoot computer issues for personal clients while being away from my laptop and a few hours from home.
I think the comsumerization of IT is drastically changing the way tech savvy people collaborate and work together in nearly all aspects of life, and I for one love it!
Shane (P) I agree with your comments and the parent article but as you say, it is changing the way “tech savvy” people collaborate. I still deal with a large number of customers who prefer the old way of working i.e.: picking up the phone or talking face to face and there is some strong resistance to mobile working by some organisations. It seems to me that communication has made a paradigm shift the “invention” of the cloud, but the old ways are still very much alive and for some will go only with much kicking and screaming!