Over the past 12 months I have worked with industry experts, listened to podcasts and read numerous blogs on how the digital evolution will change the way we behave at work.

My question isn’t about ‘if and when’ this will occur. It’s about who will lead the change in your company?

IT was once the domain (pardon the pun) of the IT department and it was manly hidden from users. If I oversimplify it, IT’s core role was twofold:

1) Keep the system running
2) Keep users on the system.

The advent of apps, tablets and a sea of emails has changed the landscape and IT teams are generally ill-equipped to keep up with the pace of change and the demands of users.
I work with senior leaders in large multinational companies every day. I ask them one simple question: “Who is helping you with your company’s individual digital footprint?”
In most cases, the answer, sadly, is no one. In defence of the poor IT department, they have the skills but not the time and resources. A lot of helpdesk support has migrated off shore and users are left to fend for themselves.

This is OK in a world where proficiency in email and the Microsoft Office suite was once acceptable. That world is fast disappearing and leaders need to open their eyes to the digital evolution, not just for themselves and their fellow workers, but for those younger generations who will pick a company to work for based on their digital footprint – hardware and software – as much as their salary.

Younger generations have come through uni at the bleeding edge and want to make quick progress through an organisation. To be quick, you need to make great decisions. To do this you need the right information at the right time. Asking people to regress is like expecting fast lap times in a 1980s car.

So what is the solution? Well like most of these complex systems, there isn’t a single magic bullet to solve it. You should start thinking about:

• Engage human resource departments to think about behaviour change through digital and how they can take greater ownership
• Increase discussion at executive team level on how you can inspire people to choose your company based on your digital footprint
• Encourage sharing of best practice
• Engage outside help to train and develop people.

We all know there are solutions out there that could make us more productive, meaning we could spend more time on decisions that matter most.
For too long we have accepted second best, in an environment where the top line ticked along OK. Those days are over and it is time to think differently.

There is a lot of talk about native productivity apps today and recent research suggested that tablet computers are still only used 4% for business (The Cooperative Institutional Research Program (CIRP) report 2012).

With all the hype around apps, web based productivity tools can sometimes go unnoticed as they are not easily found on marketplaces such as iTunes and android

So I would like to share with you a few I use and suggest some ways of making it easier to find others.

I recently listed all the web based tools I used in a month. In my consulting business to corporate clients, I am surprised with how few tools people use. I also appreciate how busy everyone is and people don’t have the time to research tools. This is where I would like to help.

This list was determined based on frequency of use and value generated. I have kept the descriptions brief. You can look at reviews on youtube to get more information.

• ConnectedHQ.  Networking tool. Combines twitter, Facebook, address book and linkedin into one view
• SurveyMonkey. Survey tool. 10 free questions to seek 360 degree feedback
• Google docs. Cloud spreadsheet tool. One version of spreadsheet that can have multiple viewers using the spreadsheet in real time
• Dropbox. Cloud storage. Access to files at anytime. Some corporate restriction on access. Still use for personal files – beats USB keys!!
• Flipboard. Reader tool. User friendly for reading and sharing. OK not web based, but I had to squeeze one app in!!
• Google bookmarks. Save website URL tool. Categorise websites and write notes for later reference
• Google alerts. Email daily or weekly websites from keyword search. Targeted research.
• Sliderocket. Presentation tool. Diagnostic tool on when people read presentations and time spent per slide. Gets around file size restriction with email
• TeamworkPM. Project management tool. User friendly task management tool which reduces email

The tools listed is a sample. To find other tools that meet your specific needs I suggest you;

1. Set up google alerts under topics of interest. I use terms like productivity, web based tools etc
2. Ask people you know for their top 5 web based tools
3. Read blogs

The elephant in the room for many corporate people today is ‘firewalls’. Many employees feel restricted by their company blocking access to leading edge web based tools. One solution is to demonstrate the benefit of the tool and weigh that against the specific risks. By having the conversation, it may lead to more access. If not, the other alternative is bringing your own device to work and using it. Not ideal, however the benefit of using the tool may outweigh the inconvenience.  For many people with a corporate blackberry and personal phone or tablet – this is happening anyway.

The last point is around subscriptions. Market places like iTunes and Andriod can point us to buy free or $0.99. I am all for value and I encourage you to do a back of an envelope exercise on the value of a paid subscription for a web based tool v cost. To help you, most tools have a free trial period.

We live in a world of rapid change – one full of excitement and opportunity. Native apps are extremely beneficial and I fully endorse their use.  This article should get you to thinking about the many incremental options available on the web.