Consumer Apps Drive Enterprise ExpectationsConsumer Apps Drive Enterprise Expectations

There’s been lots of talk in the blogoshpere this week about the Apple iPhone, and who can blame the bloggers for that? If nothing else, it’s a sleek piece of hardware that offers some pretty nifty features at, literally, the touch of a finger. I agree with my colleagues who say it’s unlikely the iPod will become enterprise-standard anytime soon: It’s lacking key security and management features; it currently doesn’t do so much good for users not on the Cingular network; the e-mail support is fine, but the phone would be even better if it supported enterprise telephony as well as cellular; and it’s awfully pricey compared to the (enterprise-ready) competition.

But really, did anyone expect the iPhone to be a new tool for the enterprise? Probably not. What’s more important is how it will affect what technologies employees expect to use while on the job today and in the future. Not all consumer technologies will storm the enterprise; some won’t even squeak through a crack in the door. But many will define how people interact with technology, and through it one another.

Take the iPhone. While the device itself may not get handed out to employees at the office, if they use it on their own (and many will), they’ll come to expect similar capabilities not just from their company-issue handheld, but from all their office communications. That means user-defined access to voicemail, one-touch calling and conferencing, and robust texting capabilities. Sound familiar? It should—those are some of the same reasons companies are starting to deploy unified communications tools to their end users.

Other consumer technologies are shaping enterprise expectations. For instance, YouTube and other sites that offer videos 24/7 are changing the way people view video content—both literally (consumers are OK with watching video on a PC screen; some even seem content to do so on the tiny iPod) and figuratively (people are more willing to watch videos anywhere, anytime, and by anyone). That conditions employees to get comfortable using video on the job—whether it’s to deliver or receive information through streaming video, or to collaborate via video conference. But it also conditions them to expect a certain quality of experience, and if companies don’t deliver it, they should expect outcries, backlash, and refusal to use the technology.

Employees who use IM at home aren’t just more willing to use IM in the workplace—they’re more willing to multi-task, use text-based communications on any device, and check availability information before making decisions about how and when to contact others. Likewise, employees who regularly use MySpace to meet and connect with friends will be more willing to use social networking tools at work to collaborate with co-workers.

The question isn’t so much which consumer technologies will make the transition from home to office; not all of it will. The key is to recognize what aspects of consumer technology have become so ingrained in our culture that they are changing the way people live—and then deploying enterprise technology to leverage that change to alter the way people work.