Consumer-centric technology -- including HDTV -- is increasingly finding its way into the SMB workplace.
Each month, SMB expert Steve Hilton of Yankee Group answers real reader questions about small and midsize business in Ask Steve.
When I was 17 I got a phat job at a dry cleaner in the St. Louis suburbs. Not only was I making the kingly sum of $4.75 an hour compared to the $3.35 I had been making at McDonald's (plus all the Big Macs I could eat after closing-time ), but we had a 12-inch black-and-white TV to help pass the hours sorting, tagging, spotting, cleaning, and pressing. That bit of consumer technology helped -- a little. In the 1980s SMBs had scant consumer technology in the workplace, but today the consumerization of the enterprise is in full force. Technology continues to find its way from the home to the SMB, and there's no turning back.
This week Ask Steve is excited to join Josh Martin, Yankee Group's pre-eminent consumer analyst, as we discuss the consumerization of the enterprise and connected devices. All you gadget lovers, grab a Filet o' Fish, and large fries, and sink your teeth into this month's Ask Steve.
Bryan from Kissimmee, FL: I just bought an HDTV for home use. I've heard cable companies are going to offer new things like distance learning and conferencing over HDTV. What do you think about getting an HDTV for the office?
Steve: Bryan, you're not the only one wondering what types of cool gadgets will find their way into the workplace of the future. In prior Ask Steve articles, we've talked about the high levels of cable TV adoption in the SMB office setting, and we have no doubt HDTV and all sorts of programming are coming your way soon. The major cable operators like Comcast, Time Warner Cable Business Class, and Cox Communications have all expressed heightened interest in offering new types of video programming -- both one-way and two-way -- to SMBs. Programming would focus on entertainment, education and communications.
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Let's take a quick look at some Yankee Group forecast data on connected devices -- devices with embedded wireless or wireline connectivity to home networks and the Internet. These include digital audio players such as the iPod Touch; digital media adapters like the Apple TV and Sling Media's SlingCatcher; Blu-ray players like the Samsung BD-P1600; and HDTVs like the HP MediaSmart TV. Such connectivity is being embedded into many devices, and from 2008 to 2010 the number of connected devices will grow exponentially.
Exhibit 1: Connected Device Forecast " Devices Sold
Source: Yankee Group 2009 Connected Consumers, Connected Devices: 2009 U.S., Part 1
A connected HDTV could provide access to limitless HD content while disintermediating the service provider altogether. You could sign up for Rosetta Stone language classes, or how about live classes from business school? And as you mention, connected HDTVs will eventually provide high-resolution videoconferencing, along the lines of Cisco's TelePresence, to reduce travel expense.
Content on HDTVs are only one aspect of the impact connected consumer technology will have on the workplace. Employees will use digital audio players to grab the latest work-related podcasts to review at home after the kids go to bed. And the ability of digital media adapters to link computer and TV functionality will provide access to applications in new ways and locations.
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If you find it hard to imagine a world where all this consumer-centric technology finds its way into the business context, then maybe you're just in the wrong demographic. According to Yankee Group's 2007 Mobile Professional Blended Lifestyle Survey data, 32% of Millennials (people born after 1980) believe they are more productive at work when they have access to their consumer applications and technology tools, while only 16% of Baby Boomers do. Unsurprisingly, the average Millennial uses 3.8 consumer tools in the workplace, while the average Baby Boomer uses only 2.5.
Consumerization of the enterprise will lead to many changes in technology deployment for SMBs. We've talked about connected devices in this Ask Steve, but the implications impact mobile devices, PCs, virtualized environments, cloud computing, UC, video-based applications, and more.
Thanks for the great questions and keep them coming.
Do you have a question to ask Yankee Group analyst Steve Hilton?
Send your questions to asksteve@yankeegroup.com. Please include your name, city, state (province), and phone number. Only first names and locations will be published.
Steve Hilton is VP of Enterprise and SMB research at Yankee Group. Hilton is recognized as a leading, global SMB expert.
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