What is a computer?

For some reason, in many IT professionals minds, tablets and computers are seen to be different.  This seems to lead to a two tier approach to how these different platforms are treated within an organisation.  All to often this is to support "proper" computers and to discourage the other kinds.

Yet non IT Professionals seem to prefer the alternative computing platforms and the take up of IOS and Android tablets is taking significant sales out of the PC market.  There are many reasons for this some based in fashion and one up man ship, but largely this is because these devices just do what people want them to do.  Finding and installing software is easy and you can pretty much just pick them up and use them.  These devices remove the mystery to computing and, in the spirit of the impossibles, once everyone is a competent computer user nobody is special any more.

This seems to provoke IT professionals to point out why these devices are unsuitable for corporate use.  These points are often reinforced or even created by computer product vendors. Quite often though those same IT professionals and vendors make use of these devices themselves at work finding them convenient for many purposes.  It seems it's not the use of the devices that is not approved of but more a concern about the reduction in the use of "proper" computers.  Understandable when "proper" computers have paid the mortgage for many years.

What is needed is a recognition that IOS and Android devices are computers too.  This truly goes beyond tablets to the mobile phone as well. Most of these devices are as capable as a desktop computer of 5 or six years ago and some of them are considerably more capable. The corporate environment is already incomplete without these devices and we need to recognise this and work to a future where all computing supports user computing needs.  This needs us to stop resisting the inevitable, and embrace the future.  To design mechanisms where everything co-exists in an effective, manageable and governable way.  Above all we have to stop feeling that we must control everything and focus on areas where we enhance and de-risk our business.  This way when the computer of today is replaced with the interactive glasses of tomorrow we will still be relevant and providing a service to our businesses.