In the early 2000s, technology underwent a significant transformation, reshaping both consumer and business landscapes. The debut of consumer-friendly devices like the iPhone, coupled with the rise of the “consumerization of IT,” marked a turning point. As individuals began introducing personal technology into the workplace, expectations shifted, and employees started to demand user-friendly, consumer-grade design in professional tools.
Before this shift, tech companies primarily sold their products to organizations, with decisions often made by executive leaders, leaving the end users with little input. However, as personal computers became more accessible and smartphones evolved, consumers began driving market trends, even in enterprise technology. The rise of web and SaaS applications further accelerated this change, offering users better tools outside of work than inside it.
This growing influence of consumer preferences in the workplace sparked a long-lasting transformation in enterprise technology. Although the movement started years ago, the interplay between consumer technology and enterprise solutions continues to shape both markets. What began as a shift in user expectations has evolved into a broader trend that encompasses various aspects of modern technology adoption.
Trends of consumerization
Consumer-Grade UX
In the past, user experience (UX) was not a primary concern for enterprise technology companies. They typically sold their products to executives, leaving end-users with limited options and little influence over which tools were chosen.
However, as people encountered more intuitive, consumer-grade UX in their personal devices and software, they began to expect the same ease of use in their workplace tools. Executives soon recognized the benefits—improved productivity and morale—when employees could work more efficiently with user-friendly systems.
This shift in expectations forced enterprise tech companies to adapt. They started developing mobile apps, investing in A/B testing, and building design teams capable of creating products that could rival those of consumer giants like Apple. Design tools such as Sketch, Framer, Abstract, and Figma emerged, making high-quality UX not only possible but essential for enterprises.
By 2015, research from the Design Management Institute revealed that 16 publicly traded design-driven companies outperformed the S&P 500 by 211%. With consumer UX continually advancing, enterprises are now in a broader competition to develop the most effective, user-friendly products.
As a result, even the largest enterprise technology firms have embraced design thinking and user research, striving to create products that satisfy users both as professionals and as consumers.
Product-Led Growth
In the past, when enterprise technology companies sold software, the product itself was often secondary to the promises made to decision-makers. The focus was on outcomes that could convince company leaders to adopt and implement the software across their organizations.
With the advent of cloud computing and SaaS, this approach shifted. Now, technology companies can grow from the ground up, driven by end-user adoption rather than executive decisions. Companies like Slack, Zoom, Notion, and Airtable exemplify this model, offering products directly to end-users—often for free—who then advocate for broader organizational use.
By emphasizing consumer-grade UX, enterprise tech companies can cater directly to the needs of end-users and leverage their influence to secure larger, enterprise-wide sales. Product-led growth strategies typically involve free trials, freemium models, or affordable single-user options to encourage initial use, allowing end-users to explore and champion the tools within their companies.
This model allows enterprises to connect with users who often have deeper insights into the product’s functionality than executives, collectively holding significant influence over purchasing decisions. Atlassian, with its flagship product Jira, is a prime example of this approach. Targeting software developers—an especially influential group—Atlassian successfully leveraged product-led growth to expand its market reach.
Democratization of Enterprise Tools
Improved UX and the rise of product-led growth have led to the democratization of enterprise tool usage. Increasingly, end-users are taking greater control not only over which tools they use but also how they use them.
In the past, end-users were passive recipients of software, simply expected to use it as directed. Today, thanks to niche SaaS solutions, users are becoming more like power-users, shaping how they interact with technology. For instance, enterprise accountants are no longer just “users” but see themselves as critical players in their workflow, demanding software that meets their specific needs. This shift reflects a broader trend where users expect tools to be tailored to their expertise and preferences.
Low-Code and No-Code Tools: Empowering Non-Developers and Accelerating Innovation
A long-standing challenge for enterprises has been the scarcity of development resources. According to a 2018 study, about 23% of developers’ time is spent managing technical debt, a burden that grows with the size and age of the company. This often leaves larger enterprises at a disadvantage compared to agile startups, whose developers can focus on innovation.
Low-code and no-code tools offer a powerful solution to this problem. These platforms allow non-developers to create software solutions without needing extensive coding expertise. As a result, non-technical employees can rapidly build applications tailored to their specific needs, while developers are free to focus on more strategic and complex projects.
In many cases, non-developers are closer to the business challenges they’re addressing, enabling them to build solutions that are more aligned with immediate needs. By adopting low-code and no-code tools, companies can accelerate their development cycles, reduce time to market, and increase their overall agility in a competitive environment.
For enterprises looking to embrace the consumerization of IT, leveraging these tools is a key step toward empowering employees and boosting innovation while optimizing development resources.
Generative AI: Transforming Enterprise Innovation
Generative AI has quickly become a pivotal force in enterprise technology, and its influence is only growing. According to recent research by a16z, enterprises invested an average of $7 million in generative AI in 2023, with nearly all reporting promising outcomes. Many businesses plan to double or even quintuple their AI investments in the coming years.
One of the most valuable applications of AI for enterprises is its ability to make sense of vast amounts of unstructured or semi-structured data, such as emails, chats, videos, and web content. As highlighted by Lightspeed Ventures, large language models (LLMs) excel at processing this data, providing enterprises with powerful tools for information access and analysis.
Generative AI is enabling businesses to automate essential processes, enhance customer experiences, and boost revenue. As these technologies continue to advance, enterprises will have even greater opportunities to leverage AI-driven insights and create transformative applications that drive growth and efficiency.
For companies embracing the future of AI, the potential to reshape business processes and harness data-driven solutions is becoming a key competitive advantage.
Self-Service Support: Empowering Users and Enhancing Efficiency
Complementing the rise of product-led growth, self-service support enables users to resolve software issues independently, fostering a sense of empowerment and efficiency. This trend is a natural extension of consumer-grade UX, where professional users increasingly view themselves as power-users, preferring to solve problems themselves rather than immediately turning to IT support.
Research from Tidio highlights this shift, with over 67% of customers favoring self-service options over interacting with a customer service representative, and 73% preferring to use a company’s website for support rather than social media, SMS, or live chat apps.
For many enterprises, the idea of minimizing customer support interactions may seem counterintuitive. However, for many users, no matter how excellent the support, the best experience is not needing it at all. Self-service options, such as discussion forums, knowledge bases, and customer portals, allow users to troubleshoot and solve issues independently before seeking external help.
Enterprises that implement self-service support systems not only streamline operations but also increase customer satisfaction, making it a win-win for both the business and its users.
First-Party Data and Personalization: Enhancing Marketing Effectiveness
Enterprise marketers have long faced the challenge of balancing the need to collect data for personalized marketing with the complexity of managing an overwhelming number of tools. The pressure to gather data for better campaigns often led to tool sprawl, making it difficult to capture, organize, and utilize the wealth of data available.
To address this, many enterprises are now shifting their focus toward first-party data collection. By building transparent data-gathering processes, secure storage systems, and clear communication with customers about the benefits of personalized features, companies can more effectively leverage data for marketing. This approach not only enhances personalization but also builds trust, demonstrating to customers how the use of their data leads to a more tailored and valuable experience.
Prioritizing first-party data allows enterprises to streamline their marketing efforts while providing better customer experiences, ultimately creating a more impactful and efficient marketing strategy.
Key takeaways
In the context of consumerization, enterprise technology providers must prioritize consumer-grade user experience to meet evolving expectations and enhance productivity. Embracing product-led growth strategies, such as offering free trials, can drive end-user adoption and align with the consumerization trend. Empowering users with customizable tools and low-code/no-code platforms will facilitate faster innovation in response to consumerization demands. Integrating generative AI can automate processes and improve customer experiences, while investing in self-service support allows users to resolve issues independently. Finally, focusing on secure first-party data collection will enhance personalized marketing efforts, ensuring better engagement and satisfaction in a consumerized marketplace.
If you have questions or need assistance executing these strategies, our team is available at hello@tidalcommerce.ca.
