Eventually the consumerization of IT movement will go the way of e-commerce and just be something everybody has. A few years from now, will we still be talking about the consumerization of IT? Practically every company supports some sort of smartphone, laptop or tablet that was designed for consumers, not the enterprise. In the smartphone space, the big enterprise maker, RIM, is in a death spiral. Meanwhile, consumers are absolutely giddy about the iPhone 5 expected in October. The Apple iPhone is the touchscreen face that launched a thousand Androids, to the chagrin of IT. Laptops are the only real piece of real estate companies and their IT departments can cling to, yet even this is changing as the computing world moves toward tablets. Perhaps the greatest consumer device in recent years, the iPad rules the tablet market. Microsoft’s Surface is poised to enter the market in the fall. SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER From our editors straight to your inbox Get started by entering your email address below. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe So is consumerization of IT a foregone conclusion? My guess is that the idea of consumerization of IT will go the same route as e-commerce. In the days before the dot-com bust, everyone was talking about e-commerce. Secure shopping carts were the new thing. Magazines and other media sprouted up to cover the emerging trend. Today, nobody talks about e-commerce. Why? Because everyone is doing it. You’d be hard-pressed to find a retailing Web site that doesn’t sell products online. The technology has matured to the point where most of us don’t worry much about the safety of the transaction. Which brings me to another similarity between the two. Security vendors tried to scare us with horror stories about insecure e-commerce transactions. Our credit cards and identity were at risk, they said. Oddly, identity theft still mostly occurs when our physical credit cards, postal mail or trash containing confidential information has been stolen – not very digital at all. Now security vendors and IT departments are trying to scare companies about insecure consumer mobile devices tapping into the corporate network and transacting with sensitive data. They’re calling for draconian policies to wipe machines if they even suspect that they could be compromised. Another bugaboo? Probably. But if consumerization of IT does follow in e-commerce’s footsteps, all this hand-wringing will end soon enough. That’s when consumer smartphones, laptops and tablets will be as ubiquitous in the enterprise as cubicles and air conditioning. Related content opinion Google Bigwig Eric Schmidt Posts Bizarre Guide for 'Converting to Android from iPhone' Google's Executive Chairman wants you to switch from iPhone to Android, and he posted a strange guide to help make the transition as smooth as possible. By Al Sacco Dec 09, 2013 2 mins Smartphones Android Operating Systems opinion Apple's 'Spaceship' Campus Evokes Jobs-Era Perfectionism Some facts have emerged about Apple's planned "spaceship" campus. Delayed and over-budget but painstakingly detailed, it's already part of Apple history, and makes CIO.com's Tom Kaneshige nostalgic for Steve Jobs' maniac By Tom Kaneshige Apr 05, 2013 3 mins Financial Services Industry Innovation IT Leadership opinion Apple, Where Art Thou? Apple is under siege and uncharacteristically running for cover amidst mounting competition and research reports favoring Android. By Tom Kaneshige Mar 12, 2013 2 mins Smartphones Tablets IT Leadership opinion Is Computer's Future a Glass House? According to Google and Corning, glass surfaces and eyeglasses are where we'll do our computing in the future. By Tom Kaneshige Mar 06, 2013 1 min Small and Medium Business Innovation Mobile Podcasts Videos Resources Events SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER From our editors straight to your inbox Get started by entering your email address below. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe