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The 3 Most Important Trends Affecting Business, Technology, and Communications

I was recently asked about the three most important trends affecting business, technology, and communications.  Here is what I answered along with some additional thoughts on each:

1.  People are now able to rapidly connect based on shared needs, beliefs, or interests in ever smaller groups.

Connecting and sharing is now easier than ever with Facebook, Twitter, Ning, blogs, etc.  The list of ways to connect and share is very long but the important point here is that you don't need massive numbers to form an affinity group or micro-segment.

2.  Constant connectivity is blurring the line between personal and professional lives.

We all now come to work connected with our own mobile devices and computers as "work days" are evolving into a mix of personal pursuits and professional obligations that start way before 8am and end well after 5pm.  We all now have the ability to publish and build our individual brands so I am not just an employee of ABC company that does job X, I am a person with expertise who currently happens to work at ABC.  Read a few LinkedIn profiles and you'll see what I am talking about.

3.  Individuals are getting their news and information from places other than traditional media and are relying more on those with whom they are connected.

The turmoil traditional news sources, especially newspapers, are going through is widely known.  The cost structures of paper-based, advertising driven news does not translate to real-time news circulating on-line.  There are efforts underway to control access to news content and try to get to a workable new business model.  It is great to watch but I am darn glad I am not in that industry.  As "news" evolves and peer-based information sharing proliferates we will be informed by those we know or are connected to much more than by arm's length journalists. 

My answers are not the product of extensive research but rather how I see things coming together around me as I spend my days dealing with business, technology, and communications.  What do you think?

Are corporate IT departments obstacles to innovation?

As I look back at the various start ups I have been a part of, none of them has had an easy time getting their first big enterprise customer.  The minefield of meetings, requirements, obstacles, outright "no" & "no way" responses is enough to kill the spirit of even the most optimistic and entrepreneurial among us.

Now on-demand software that can be accessed via a browser without consultation or authorization by corporate IT departments often meets a similar fate once unauthorized downloads are detected or the volume of data exchange with an unauthorized website appears on the radar screen.  This sometimes occurs regardless of the passion, need, or protest of the business end-user.

So, why is this?  Are corporate CIOs and their teams enemies of innovation?

Not at all.  They are, however, risk managers and anything new, untried, and early stage is met with suspicion and concern. 

If you are building something for the enterprise, you will at some point meet the risk mitigation wave...even if all the business folks are using what you sell and loving it dearly.  It must meet certain requirements related to management, oversight, audit, compliance, and governance.  You don't have to have it nailed out of the gate, but be aware that it will come...with your success.

So, companies like Gist that are innovating in areas like contact management, sales software, CRM software, etc. and experiencing success in the marketplace will soon come face to face with the risk mitigation wave.  We know this, are prepared for it, and can't wait to have that discussion.

Just remember, your IT department doesn't want to deprive you of the best tools and newest technologies.  They just want to make sure the shop runs smoothly and that those new tools, programs, and technologies don't compromise the network, raid the financial system, or otherwise wreak havoc on the company.

It's not about the browser

Much banter today about Google's entry into the browser wars with "Chrome."  This piece from Henry Blodget and this video clip on TechTicker put it into proper perspective. 

This is not about a new browser with clever features.  It is about an all out assault on operating systems like Windows or as Blodget points out "an operating system for cloud computing."  Looks like the download link is live - get it here.

Good news for IT spending?

Well...kinda.  This story from MarketWatch about a recent Gartner survey highlights an anticipated increase in spend over the next three years.  The anticipated 8% spending increase is almost cut in half when allowing for a declining US Dollar (although the dollar has gained in recent weeks).  Let's leave that to the economists and take this as an indication that folks will continue to spend money on IT going forward.

Gartner analyst Jim Tully points to several things driving spending growth including technology shifts:

Among those shifts are movements toward software being sold on a per-use, service-based model, and toward "cloud computing," in which information is stored on a server and any changes to that information are automatically made to devices that are linked into the cloud.

Cloud computing not on the CIO agenda in the next year

This according to a ComputerWorld story on a CIO survey (via a Billy Marshall article on Sandhill.com) conducted by our friends at Goldman "no subprime on me" Sachs.  Lots of discussion around reducing consulting and hardware as well as targeting headcount among IT staff positions. 

"It also showed that CIOs planned to emphasize economizing measures over investments in new technologies, with cloud computing emerging as the last item on their priority lists, despite the hype around it. "

Virtualization and server consolidation top the list with application integration on the list as well. 

I'm guessing that "cloud computing" on its own is not at the top of the list because it is more of a "how" vs. a "what."  Also interesting that things like virtualization rank so high which a non-techie like me would include in the cloud computing category.  Read Billy's take and reference the post I wrote on consuming software for some additional perspective on this.

How many underwater cables can be cut?

Plenty...  A bit of news in the headlines recently about underwater cables being cut which led me to wonder just how many of these things are there?  I got my answer via WallStreetFighter and thought I would share (image from the UK's Telegraph).

Google fires a shot at Microhoo

Here's Google's official response to a Microsoft/Yahoo combination.  This is gonna be good as Google is taking the side of the "principles of the Internet:  openness and innovation."  I'll let the irony of that argument hang on its own considering the players in this dance. 

Good news (sort of) for tech spending

It's predicted to get harder to sell IT this year...which is better than impossible I suppose.  According to this NY Times article and research from IDC:

"Overall growth in technology spending may fall from 7 percent last year to 4 percent or less this year"

The backdrop on this is that it's not like spending has been going bonkers over the past 5 years especially in enterprise software and more specifically B2B investments.  I had a recent chat with the head of e-business at a large distribution company where he lamented the continued "hangover" from the tech bubble and the empty promises (and bad investments) from so much vaporware.

Improved access and more economically tolerable consumption models (SaaS/on-demand) make this a less difficult (but not easy) road.  Hubspan (yes, a shameless plug but our strategy is relevant to my point) is approaching this with a blend of self-service and managed service capabilities.  As budgets tighten further, companies will seek more economical ways to address the B2B agenda be that through outsourcing B2B projects completely or choosing to take on initiatives with a more attractive on-demand consumption approach versus the big dollars historically required for integration software, servers, and staff.

There's still life in enterprise IT

Good post by Chip Hazard of IDG Ventures (via PE Hub) on the opportunity in enterprise IT for young (and resilient) companies.  Lots of greats points here including the need to include software as a service  (SaaS) approaches and open source considerations.

Taking the Mac plunge

Although I took a vacation day today, we stuck pretty close to home except for a journey over to the University Village Apple store where we bought a MacBook. 

The earth is not spinning backwards and dogs and cats are not living together so all seems right with the world even though this is our first foray into Apple land.  Early feedback is really positive.  We needed something for home to do pictures, movies, music, internet on and, quite frankly, after spending a few too many confusing cycles on the Dell configuration site (as well as feedback from trusted techie friends) we took the Mac plunge.

Also got to hand it to the marketing folks in Cupertino for the experience..not just a retail presence but a "place" to spend time.