In the new economy, employees are often perplexed by the disconnect between employee technology and corporate objectives. Executives talk about employee empowerment, the need for innovation, the importance of social media and new business models. But they provide employees with locked-down desktop computers, limit the use of employee-owned technology, and often ban the use of social media applications outright. How should employees respond?

Increasingly, employees are skirting IT restrictions and security rules in order to use their gadgets to help them do their job better. In response, forward-thinking CIOs are encouraging workers to use their own smartphones and tablets alongside corporate computing platforms. They are finding new ways to secure and manage employee-owned devices on the corporate network, an idea that was once unthinkable.

The trend is part of the rapid consumerization of corporate IT. It’s a way for companies to make their employees happy, enhance recruitment and take advantage of their workers’ professional networks.

As with all shifts of this magnitude, the transition has to be mindful. But for knowledge workers whose jobs involve collaboration, the right technology can make a big difference. While the best strategy typically starts with the right company-issued notebook and smartphone,...