Generation Y IT developers at the state agency, for example, are always eager to try out new tools and languages as soon as they are available. Wright noted that he often allows these employees to research the tools to determine whether they would benefit the organization.
Wright said that he often has to explain ROI ramifications when rejecting requests for specific technologies. "We have to come to an understanding that there is that balance between the latest and greatest technology and being responsible from a fiscal standpoint," he said.
Linda Gravett, author of "Bridging the Generation Gap: How to Get Radio Babies, Boomers, Gen Xers, and Gen Yers to Work Together and Achieve More," noted that the Millennials she interviewed for her book were very clear in their reluctance to work for a company that lacks Web 2.0 and other emerging technologies.
Gravett agreed that IT organizations can have a hard time getting budgetary approval for expensive technology that is demanded by only a subset of the workforce, However, she suggested that IT managers keep track of whether a lack of such technology is prompting talented workers to leave.
With that information companies can compare job turnover costs to the price of new technologies to help justify a purchase.
She also advises companies to create focus groups consisting of workers of all ages to better keep tabs on technology needs.
Adam Sarner, an analyst with Gartner, suggested that companies study how the workplace attitudes of Generation Y are significantly different than earlier generations.
A Millennial, he noted, is accustomed to using social networks and contributing his or her own content to the Internet. The generation also tends to judge people based on their technology acumen, Sarner said.
Thus, some of those workers may have trouble handling a traditional corporate hierarchy where some top executives lack strong technology skills. Generation Y workers are also more likely to contend that technology can be used to improve long established business processes, Sarner said.
"Some of the old ways of doing things are absolutely being questioned," he noted. "The workplace is going to have more explaining to do than 'This is the way we've always been doing things.'"