Just posted an OpEd piece on IT's role in supporting the Splinternet. The Splinternet is a lot like the Internet except that it's fragmented by devices and passwords (and media formats and screen sizes and location). Customers don't get a single experience across mobile, social, and Web channels today. But they need to. Marketing is scrambling to give customers the mobile apps and social engagement they desire, scambling to overcome the Splinternet. But marketing can't do it alone.

The most digitally advanced firms and organizations on the planet realize that they need a whole-company response (and that includes all of IT as well as customer service, sales, and product development; supported by finance and legal and ops) already and are investing to deal with the Splinternet. (ESPN, NPR, Amazon, Google, and Bank of America come to mind.)

I won't repeat the article here, but I will point out that IT has a choice to make. It starts with a logic argument:

• Customers expect a single experience across the Web, mobile, and social channels.
• IT is the only part of the organization that can stitch together all of the systems across all of the channels to deliver that single experience.
• Therefore, IT needs to step up and confront the challenges and opportunities presented by the Splinternet.
• Therefore, IT must work even more closely with marketing, sales, customer service, and product development.

So now the choice: How involved do you want to be in the Empowered (mobile/social/Web) future of your company?

Are you seeing this? Do you own customer mobile? Who in your organization is waking up to the challenge of the Splinternet? Please weigh in.