Apple's iCloud will spur consumerisation, says analyst
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TechMarketView analyst Richard Holway says tech giant's new content hosting service will make its devices even more popular in the workplace
iCloud, the content hosting service unveiled by Apple yesterday, will accelerate the use of the consumer technology giant's products in the workplace, according to IT analyst Richard Holway.
The service will allow users to store up to 5GB-worth of documents, including word processor files and spreadsheets, for free. TechMarketView's Holway believes this will only increase employees' desire to use their Apple devices at work.
"More and more, Apple is coming into organisations through the back door," he said. "And if people are going to use their devices with a cloud environment at work, then clearly Apple took a major step forward towards an Apple cloud for business activities last night."
Holway described the service as an "ace move" by Apple that effectively means it is no long necessary to own a desktop or laptop to use its online services. "If I was Microsoft, I would have gone from concern to downright despair," he remaked.
iCloud will be available in the US in August, and will be hosted across three US-based three data centres, including Apple's $1 billion new facility in North Carolina, believed to be one of the world's largest data centres.
The company gave no details of when iCloud will be available in the UK, or where UK customers' data will be hosted.
Whilst the launch of Apple’s iCloud may well encourage the use of consumer technology in the workplace, there are indeed a number of important factors which senior management must consider if this trend is to prove beneficial to the bottom line.
There is little doubt that employees using their own IT devices for work can be beneficial to a business, as it can support an ‘always on’ culture which is flexible to time and location, as well as potentially reducing the IT department’s spend on otherwise equipping mobile members of staff. This is indeed a question of balance, however, as senior management must make clear strategic decisions if the true benefits are to be realised.
A procedural agreement must be put in place which ensures that employees understand where the line is drawn on security measures and the company’s approach to both accessing and synchronising data. A rigorous process to ensure that disparate data sources are stored and backed up on a central system is also vital. For instance, Apple’s iCloud will allow users to store up to 5GB-worth of documents, including word processor files and spreadsheets, for free, but this will undoubtedly involve a cultural shift for many employees, who may require training to understand how data must be shared and centralised, rather than being stored remotely on individual devices. Employees must also agree that these devices will need to be regularly checked and sanctioned by the IT department to avoid compromising the network security.
Vitally, this is a case in point where the ‘consumerisation’ of IT can offer great benefits to an organisation, but where senior management must work to be at the helm of decision-making to ensure that IT remains a servant of the business.
Richard Barker
CEO
Sovereign Business Integration
Metro Point
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