Bring Your Own PC (II)

Here’s an interesting piece from The Register on the Bring Your Own PC trend which I mentioned recently.

That individuals wish to use their own equipment at work is an inevitable consequence of the growing trend of individualism and independence, amplified here by the fact that in today’s world, the individual consumer often has better IT equipment than the enterprise.  They come to the workplace with high expectations and with an established way of interacting.  Corporate IT often struggles to cope.

From an organisational humanity perspective, it is interesting to see that, even within the context of a “traditional” employment relationship, individuals are seeking greater influence and are less tolerant of organisational shortcomings.  As ever, it will be the young, smart and most sought after who will also be less tolerant.  Organisations that cannot keep up will suffer more than IT shortcomings.

The future belongs to the Hybrid, or Open, organisations – those which can seamlessly operate across time, geography and organisation.

The Bring Your Own PC trend also nudges at another emerging change.  Anyone familiar with the UK’s ill-conceived IR35 regulations (which seek to treat and tax contractors and other freelance individuals as pseudo-employees whilst ignoring the fundamental relationship differences of job-security, tenure and employment rights) will recognise that the provision of one’s own equipment was one of the fundamental tests of self-employment.  Now that “real” employees prefer to use their own equipment, that test will need to be re-thought … unless the government repeal that particularly Canutite law first.

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