Rise of the Enterprise Consumer

Computerworld - Do you remember the good old days? The days when computers were for business professionals and consumer electronics gadgets were for, well, consumers?
I recall a time when IT managers told users not to take software from work to use at home. Today, we ask users to please not bring their applications from home to the office. Major technologies are still unveiled in Las Vegas, but at the Consumer Electronics Show, not Comdex.
If you're looking for the line that separates business users from consumers, you'd better look behind you because we have already crossed it. Welcome to the age of the enterprise consumer, where both business and personal information are commingled and consumer-focused digital technologies are purchased not by IT departments but directly by users with the expectation that they will be used (and supported) for business purposes.
Today, digital technology is mainstream and no longer under the complete control of the IT department. In many cases, the computers handed out by strained IT departments technologically lag what consumers use at home. "Why would I want to use the 7-year-old, 9-lb. Dell that my IT guys gave me," one executive recently said to me, "when I can use this great new 4-lb. Tablet PC that I picked up myself running Windows XP?"
IT departments need to understand and actually embrace this change, because it's in their best interests. Sophisticated users who understand technology are far more likely to support IT initiatives and fund projects properly.
While it might seem otherwise, this new "educated" consumer is an opportunity for IT. Don't try to segment usage for business and personal devices, because the lines between them are too blurred. It's best to set a consistent policy of what will and won't be supported by IT. For example, tell users that you'll recover lost spreadsheets on fried disk drives, but not their vacation JPEGs. Likewise, set a clear policy on which applications are standard and supported and re-emphasize the legal importance of adhering to license agreements.
Be proactive, not reactive. It's better to have an IT-installed and properly configured Wi-Fi access point with proper security enabled than to have someone go out to a store, buy a cheap Wi-Fi router and set it up himself.
Encourage your staff to follow the latest trends in devices like cell phones and PDAs, and allocate a small part of your budget to keep some of these things around so your support staff can get some hands-on experience. The ability to show users different devices and