Finding time to adopt tech innovation is Catch 22 for many people

I'm having a problem. I keep running into people who just don't have time to adopt new technology innovations like social media. I recall years past when I was selling the idea of preventative maintenance systems to plant maintenance managers. Often they would listen to my pitch then say something like, "Well that all sounds good except I'm just too busy putting out fires every day to find time for implementing a PM system." I can't count how often I've heard those words. To their way of thinking it was simply a catch 22 situation where there's no time to prevent future fires while today's fires are burning. But then sometimes I would come across a plant maintenance manager who whole heartily adopted a PM strategy and system. Faced with the same daily fires they somehow found the time and energy to adopt the new technology and often came out looking like heroes as a result. I have often asked these "hero" maintenance managers how they found the time to adopt and implement PM and the answer I heard most often was "I didn't have the time NOT to adopt a PM program." How can this completely opposite viewpoint be explained? And it's not that the managers who couldn't imagine having time to adopt new ways of working and managing were lazy. Most were very hard working and put in far more than 40 hours each week just trying to keep their heads above water. I can understand why the idea of piling something else onto their plate seemed insane from that perspective. But then how to explain the maintenance managers who had the opposite view, successfully adopted the new PM system and revolutionized how their organization operated?

Today I run into managers who when faced with the idea of adopting social media will say, "I'm just too busy to pile even more work on top of what I'm already doing." And they really are busy emailing, sending out revisions of attachments via email, going to meetings, and returning phone calls to even think about piling on even more responsibility with Twitter or Facebook or a blog. The problem I think is they can't imagine how social media will reduce and in some cases eliminate their old style of communication and collaboration. In their mind the new technologies will simply pile more work on top of their current load. It's funny how the same patterns of behavior and thinking just keep cycling round and round no matter the endeavor.

Some Companies Can't Innovate

I was just reading about a conference put on by a middle-school in the Bronx called Dot-To-Dot. The main conference topic was exploring freedom but what really caught my attention was the technology platform they used to organize and host all aspects of the conference. Since 2007 this public middle school, IS 339, has been using Google Apps to engage students in new and innovative ways like student run businesses and student projects. Even grading and progress is managed collaboratively with students using Google forms and spreadsheets. What strikes me is how does a public middle school adopt and innovate with a technology like Google Apps when so many companies and government organizations (run by adults) are seemingly unable to do the same? I'm wondering what are the major factors in corporations and governments that stand in the way of adopting a strategy around technology innovations like Google Apps. I've seen it over and over throughout my career...with minicomputers, personal computers, LANs, 4th Gen Languages, Web Sites, Intranets, content management systems, etc. These technologies have all been right there staring every company in the face..but most companies just can't seem to see the new technology until years later after the technology has been adopted by others and has become "old hat." Why does this happen? If I had to pick one barrier to adoption of new technology for innovation I would have to choose middle management. There always seems to be one or more middle managers, who know little to nothing about how technology is used and where it is going, but for some reason finds it necessary to stand squarely in the way of anything that he/she deems TOO new. I think the reason small startup companies are so innovative is because they aren't big enough to have put any middle managers into place. Once they do the innovation slows down or even stops. If anybody else has a better idea I would sure like to hear it.

Cloud Sherpas

I just read about a startup company made-up of former Georgia Tech students called Cloud Sherpas. Their business is to assist companies in migrating to and maintaining Google Enterprise Apps. They also do Google App Engine development. This is a great service (and a great name) since most small companies don't realize the value and reduced cost they could achieve by adopting Google Enterprise Applications for email, shared documents, collaboration websites (for employees, customers, and partners), groups, and chat (voice and text) just to name a few of the services available from Google at little or no cost to the business. I'm not sure why a small to mid-size business today would want to do anything else especially given the tight economic times we are in now. And I have to add that whoever thought up the name Cloud Sherpas is a genius.

Bing is a hit

I've been trying out Microsoft's new quietly announced search engine, Bing, since it's release yesterday. As an avid Google user I have to say I'm impressed. I'm getting very good search results that seem to return super fast. I'm really starting to like the maps feature especially. Oh and check out the extras drop down menu in the right hand side of the tool bar especially the webmaster and developer centers...really nice features. So far I'm very impressed with Bing (But It's Not Google). I love the competition this will create which can only be a good thing for the search industry. Way to go Microsoft! 

Six Predictions for 2009

(1) Tight budgets in the ressession will accelerate the adoption of Cloud computing

Cloud computing, which is arguably the biggest paradigm shift in IT since the PC, came crashing onto the radar screen of the business world in 2008. Led by market leader Amazon Web Services several large technology companies started offering cloud computing services in 2008...Google App Engine in the middle of the year and Microsoft Azure services coming online towards the end of year.  Intuit's Quickbase has been around for several years and in 2008 began gaining real traction in Fortune 500 departments tired of waiting in the IT backlog line.  Many small companies offering cloud services rose to prominence including Zoho, DabbleDB, Mozy, Salesforce/Force, Ning, Wetpaint, and Rightscale just to name a few. In 2008 Cloud computing user groups started popping up in major cities around the world. In 2009 the state of our economy will further drive the need to cut IT costs of maintenance which is often over 80% of the entire IT budget and focus more dollars on applying technology to adding innovation and improving cash flow.  Businesses are going to find that adopting the cloud computing model will not only reduce maintenance but also speed up delivery of solutions. Small companies that have run their business primarily using a combination of Quickbooks and Excel spreadsheets will began to discover cloud applications in 2009 and adopt them at a rapid pace due to their ease of use and lack of requirements for IT support. 

(2) Twitter usage will explode to 50 million accounts

Twitter is going main stream in 2009. Twitter is just too cool, useful, powerful, and common sense. Everybody using Twitter knows this. Twitter went from near zero to 5 million in 2008. In 2009 it will easily go to 50 million. Companies will hire people to monitor twitter for tweets on their brand and make appropriate responses. The number of 3rd party apps for Twitter exploded in 2008 and will continue doing so in 2009. 

(3) The reduced value of email will finally become apparent to corporate leadership

As new social networking tools for communication and collaboration like Twitter, Facebook, Google Sites, Blogger, Wordpad, and Google Talk are brought through the back door of enterprises by employees who use these tools at home the need for email and even more importantly the time for traditional email will continue to decline. In my own experience most of my emails now are spam and ham anyway while my best most relevant communications more often occur inside social networking environments. I predict that in 2009 management at many enterprises will finally "get it" and maybe some will even form a strategy for "official" adoption of all the great new tools that are available above and beyond email. 

(4) Trust will be the new "control" 

If you make the decision to make the leap to cloud computing then you are giving up "control" for "trust." You are making a decision to trust the vendor of cloud computing services to safeguard your data, not to sell your data to a 3rd party, and to assist you if there is a problem. If you want control, then you need to setup your application 100% behind your own firewall on your own server and managed with your own staff. You will pay for the server hardware, staff salaries, and training for staff so they know how to maintain the technologies. And you will count on your staff to know more than the best organized hackers in the world to secure your network. I think more people will choose "trust" over "control" in 2009. It's a trend that the under 25 crowd has already adopted completely. 

(5) "Do it" yourself IT

In the past IT solutions required installing applications on servers or mainframes that were controled by the IT department. Units within a corporation requested projects which had to be approved in the budget and then put onto the IT group's project backlog list where they remained sometimes for months if not years. Nowadays cloud computing enables solutions to be created that run outside of the control and even beyond the eyesight of traditional IT. And since many cloud apps are free they can even be created and maintained outside the traditional budgeting process as well. Suddenly without warning you have a business unit using a system making them more efficient and effective where IT and the management approval chain had nothing to do with approval or development. This is one of the most disruptive shifts I have seen in my 25 years working as an IT professional in large organizations. Many IT groups simply don't get what's happening (many are in denial) as they grow ever more marginalized as the systems they are responsible for maintaining grow less important to the business.   

(6) Virtual Worlds will continue to expand and proliferate

Virtual worlds are here to stay and will continue to grow in 2009. Second Life for example grew by 61% in 2008. As virtual worlds continue expanding from the 3 Cs (communication, collaboration and commerce) to more advanced rapid prototyping, simulation, education, and data visualization they will continue to attract increasing numbers of education and training professionals, medical professionals, scientists, and engineers.  

Turning IT into a service organization

IT departments have historically seen themselves as the guardians of the computer network and the protectors of the company’s data and technology assets. In relation to users, IT has often believed that the primary mission is to protect them and the network from themselves. This approach has been called “playing god on the network” or "culture of no" philosophy and while it may have served a purpose in the past, nowadays more forward thinking IT organizations have began to realize that they need to fundamentally change their approach. The best IT leaders are turning their departments into service organizations that are focused on using technology as a business enabler, super-serving and partnering with end users, and educating users about new technology as it emerges onto the business landscape.  

New Bizspark program offers free Microsoft software to startups

If you are a new (less than three years old) startup or entrepreneur developing a software product there is a new program available from Microsoft you should know about. The program, called Bizspark, is designed to accelerate the success of early stage Startups by providing fast and easy access to current full-featured Microsoft development tools and productions licenses of server products, with no upfront costs and minimal requirements.  

If you join the Bizspark program you will be provided with a MSDN Premiere license which gives you access to all of Microsoft development products including Visual Studio 2008 Team edition and production licenses for Windows Server 2003/2008, SQL Server 2005, Sharepoint Portal Server, and Biztalk server. 

 

In order to be accepted into the Bizspark program you must be sponsored by a Microsoft Network Partner.  Last week I applied and was approved on behalf of my department at Georgia Tech to be a network partner for companies located in Georgia.  So if you are interested in participating in Bizspark send me an email or leave a comment (make sure you provide an email so I can contact you).