Along with my fellow technology colleagues, we were encouraged to ask the student panelists questions about their expectations in the work place. By the end of the event, I had come to the conclusion that these new workers are much different than the users we are used to supporting today. If you think about it, many of these students were born in the early 90s with many using dial-up Internet at the age five on personal computers in their homes. Yes, they are a home- computing generation through and through. Therefore, they are truly the first broadband connected generation on the hiring block and have very interesting perspectives on how their productivity can be maximized in the workplace.
Here are my "top three" next-generation user-productivity factors that will impact the way we deliver technology to our workforce in the years to come (by the way, many of these students have already begun submitting their resumes to a business near you):
1. They know way more about the Internet, internet security, and social networking then any other generation before us.
2. Their portable internet device (ie: iPhone, iPod, nintendo DS) use will play a big part in their workplace experience.
3. Real-time collaboration (ie: instant messaging, document sharing, texting, Skyping, etc) will drive their productivity.
So, what are the inevitabilities of these new-user factors? Well, there are many and I will do my best to address and offer remedies to the ones that concern me the most.
First off, since these new users know more about internet connected technology, they will embrace it and flourish if it works the way they expect. Since they have grown up using web-based email solutions such as gmail, yahoo, and, other "in the cloud" web solutions where they can send and receive files without size limits, you can probably bet that your in-house email system will not be an attractive tool for them. Try Google Apps, Microsoft BPOS, or some other form of hosted email system. Google Apps seems to be winning the feature battle for our new young users because their Google Mail (gmail), Google Docs, Google Talk, and Google Voice technology is leaps and bounds ahead of Microsoft on collaboration features that these users expect. Moreover, many of them already have active gmail accounts with extremely helpful email threading features that us "old" users have yet to embrace (upgrade to the latest iphone 4.x OS release and use the mail client; you will quickly understand the benefit).
Also, since these young users will know more about information security than even the most seasoned help desk technician, they are likely to understand the best ways to "get around" trivial firewall and network controls that impedes their productivity. Interestingly enough, their ability to maneuver around your security controls will be most often employed to get around productivity barriers rather than for malicious intentions. Start looking at more flexible security solutions that extend granularity and control. A good example is the Juniper Secure Access VPN device or the SonicWall EX Series SSL VPN. Rip out those traditional IPSEC client VPNs and replace them with one of these great devices. Your next generation user will work from home and you will have control over what files and applications on the network they are able to see remotely.
Social networking sites such as Myspace and facebook will segue into Linked In and Plaxo accounts. So how do you make sure these users are spending more time on Linked In then Facebook? Budgeting, prioritizing, or scheduling times for use of social-networking web traffic is the answer. You will require some type next-generation firewall to manage this traffic. Check out Fortinet's Fortigate which has the ability to prioritize LinkedIn traffic over Facebook traffic or even schedule certain times of the day (ie: lunch periods) when users can browse to sites you would rather not have them looking at during peak work periods. Proper policy around the budgeting of social network sites will definitely be experimental, so be prepared to modify your policy as you get a feel for what keeps these users productive.
Those ipods, ipads, and iphones are simply mini computers in disguise ready to copy corporate data and walk out the door to be stolen or lost. But policies that completely block personal mobile devices from the work place could cost you some quality talent. So, let them in with restrictions. Just make sure you have proper end-point and access control solutions in place to prevent data loss. Devicelock is a good USB protection tool to prevent data loss through USB connections. As for WIFI or network connected devices, Juniper's Universal Access Control (UAC) solution can provide granular access controls to specific devices and can even simplify identify management when coupled with the Juniper Odyssey Access Client.
Working in the cloud is also highly recommended for these new users. We must realize the fact that most of them are already used to cloud computing thanks to the abundant list of free online applications and tools delivered in a web browser that have been at their disposal throughout their school careers. Also, with their entrance to the workforce, they will come to expect portability, mobility, internet based tools that can be used wherever they travel. As such, cloud computing solutions will help them thrive. Most importantly, the cream of the crop energetic talent will take advantage of their cloud solutions on the weekends and into the evenings if they can listen to their iPod at home and work in the cloud at the same time.
History has proven that happy users are more productive. This new generation of corporate computing users have potential unmatched by those of previous generations simply because a large majority of them have been practicing and using internet connected computers since they were able to read. The good news is that if you embrace this generation of new workers/users, you can end up with a rockstar staff of young and eager innovators who can help you rise above your competition. Getting there is simple! All you need to do is maximize their productivity by catering to their computing expectations.
