Cloud Mindshare – Ascending the Diffusion of Innovation Curve

The Diffusion of Innovation Curve

The Diffusion of Innovation addresses the rate ideas and technologies are adopted by the masses.  I’m a firm believer that cloud education is key to the speed at which the majority gets on board with new technologies.  The problem is there are a lot of myths or old truths that are continually regurgitated which dilute new information about the cloud.  To combat this there are groups popping up all over to facilitate education of the cloud and dispel preconceived notions what is possible with the cloud.

A great example is the Open Data Center Alliance.  They have a “steering committee” of senior IT Executives from a large pool of fortune 500 and other notable companies with the mission to “speed the migration to cloud computing by enabling the solution and service ecosystem to address IT requirements with the highest level of interoperability and standards”.  Essentially addressing all concerns an organization may have about migrating to the cloud.

This is an important mission as many organizations don’t understand how to get the most benefit from the cloud since it is new for them.  The reason I started Cloud Collaborative is to accomplish something similar to the Open Data Center Alliance.  The goal of Cloud Collaborative is to bring the local “Innovators” and “Early Adopters” together with the “Majority” and provide them with an open forum to ask question and learn the new innovative ways the cloud can meet business needs. 

I believe we are nearing the “Early Majority” phase of the Diffusion of Innovation.  I often see comments about how the “cloud” isn’t new.  The truth is the concept of the cloud has been around since the 60’s.  While the concept isn’t new the technologies and applications for the cloud are continually evolving to meet nearly every business goal an organization may have for its IT environment.  With the growing adoption of the cloud it is important not to blindly jump on the bandwagon and that is where the cloud “mindshare” comes in.

Join groups and go to open forums where you can pick the brain of those early innovators.  Don’t rest on your existing knowledge of what the cloud has to offer.  If the cloud couldn’t provide you with what you needed last year, ask again.  Chances are, with the rapidly evolving technology, the cloud may be able to help you meet your goals.  

TelecomHub is another great organization dedicated to bringing together industry leaders and discussing how new technologies are addressing previously unaddressed business issues.  TelecomHub will soon be changing their name to “The HUB” because the name was a little misleading.  They discuss all things technology including M2M, cyber security, data analytics, and more.

Find these groups in your area and join them.  Listen to the war stories of the innovators who have blazed the trail for everyone else and be open minded.  New advancements are being made every day and we can all learn from the success of another.