IT decision-makers working inside midmarket companies need to shift from the technology gatekeepers to the technology road pavers–instead of controlling who goes where, they must make it easy for their company’s employee to go where they need and want to go.

The first step is to adopt IT platforms that allow communication and collaboration capabilities to be extended across networks and different devices. Extending capabilities everywhere simultaneously creates value (by improving the efficiency and effectiveness of professional services teams on customer locations) and risk (by creating additional requirements for network access security).

In this new era of open engagement:

Employees will want to buy software like a consumer: In today’s BYOD environment, information workers want to use the devices and services that they are most comfortable with to maximize their productivity. For example, imagine a CEO demanding that IT support iPhones, an operations team adopting a free, over-the-top telephony service for internal calls, or a research and development team using public cloud storage to share planning documents.

Nearly three-quarters of employees say they’re happy with the technology they have at home, while just 59 percent of employees are happy with the technology they use at work. As a result, employees are increasingly bringing their own devices, services and software applications into the workplace.

Networks must be secure, reliable and manageable: Every year, the demands on a company’s network infrastructure grow. The network that strains under today’s traffic will have an even harder time handling the data-hungry applications of the future. Smart midmarket companies know the network is crucial to business success, and adopt technology that’s available, secure, reliable and supportable.

It’s estimated that breaches inside data centers cost an average of $3 million to $5 million to recover from. Midmarket companies would do well to take a closer look at network performance and security, with an eye toward the amount of time it takes to restore operations, and the estimated cost of network downtime. Leaving data security to an unmanaged patchwork of consumer devices and applications is dangerous.

Businesses need to innovate like a startup, or risk failure: In many respects, the business world is a zero sum game where the winner takes all. If you are not taking share from your competitors, they are most likely taking it from you.

A 2014 study by PWC found that “the most innovative companies are growing at a much faster rate: 62.2 percent vs 20.7 percent over the next five years.” Technologies like social business platforms, Web collaboration, and team engagement enable successful midmarket businesses to share information and ideas readily.

Being able to engage is the first step. Employees must embrace the innovation process and tools for them to operate in a high-performance team. To drive midmarket innovation, the company must first enable and support the devices and services that their employees are most comfortable with.

Reliable, predictable service of these devices and applications is key. Technology leaders, with the help of vendors and service providers, share the responsiblity of educating the informing workers on how and when to use new tools to engage with customers and peers. No matter how intuitive a user experience seems, it’s still critical to demonstrate the value of the solution in terms that workers understand. For example:

• Sales teams can use live data from a Web-based app to check inventory on their tablet or smartphone in a customers’ office to drive urgency (or provide assurance of availability) when closing a deal.
• Field service personnel can use point-to-point video communications to help fix mechanical issues at a customer site, using forward- and backward-facing cameras to see the expert and show them the problem.
• Save time, effort and money by using desktop conferencing applications to share information and build personal relationships among distributed teams, whether they are sharing updates on projects, planning new activities, or making a business-critical decision.

New technologies, new processes and cultural adaptation will deliver breakthrough business results. Teams must accommodate shifting work schedules, share data and information, and collaborate rapidly to deliver market-leading innovation. Avaya and its global network of business partners stand at the ready to help your business succeed in the new era of engagement.

For more, read my white paper, “The New Rules of Engagement for Midmarket Businesses.”