But even in the longer term a rising trend is not inevitable.

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The consumerization of IT, which might be the most important trend in IT in the last two decades, is proving to be unstoppable, if not inevitable.

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"The business models remain to be invented, but this is a trend that is inevitable, " says Ma.

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It is inevitable that compensation committees will need to acknowledge this trend and at some point, explore what the smaller firms have to offer.

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