Intel IT CTO: Don't Neglect CoIT Beyond BYOD

At the Intel Capital Global Summit last week an Intel employee showed me his personal iPhone with MobileIron's mobile device management software installed. With MobileIron the Intel employee could connect to the corporate network and chat with his co-workers, while accessing his personal apps. It's how Intel is supporting the bring-your-own-device trend.

But Intel IT CTO Ed Goldman warns that BYOD is just a small part of consumerization of IT. "Consumerization does not equal BYOD. BYOD is just a part of the overall consumerization play," he said addressing conference attendees.

Consumerization is about the user experience, said Goldman, and companies are not moving fast enough to make sure the experience is a good one. One problem is that companies aren't thinking mobility first. "Companies providing apps are thinking about mobility later," he said.

Goldman also talked about the importance of employees being able to move seamlessly between devices, and not be hampered by overly clunky company security policies.

"The applications and technologies you have available at home" color what you expect to see at work, Goldman also noted. He recalled growing up and seeing for the first time the insides of technology--the back of a TV set. When he got old enough to code, he learned to punch cards for his PC. By comparison, his daughter has grown up with technology. She got her first cell phone at 10 and communicates with her friends on MySpace, Zynga, and Google Apps. "Technology has been core to her whole life," said Goldman.

Goldman refers to the period when the younger generation enters the workforce and is forced to use awkward enterprise apps as "the gap of disappointment." That's why after college, more students are choosing innovative companies over traditional companies, he said.