I Believe I Can Fly!

Seriously, I really do believe I can fly and one day I am sure we will figure out how. Me losing some weight would probably be a good start, that and lots and lots of technology! I am often asked about my open mindset approach when going into meetings to work out challenges and how I achieve this. Well, like the title, if you believe you can fly and you have a desire to achieve the outcome, it will happen in one way or another!


I have been watching, with great interest, at how two very different types of businesses attempt to adopt innovative approaches to new technologies. The first is the “start-up mentality” and the second is what I would call the “large business mindset” group. The “start-up mentality” companies are the ones who give the appearance of not facing the challenges of large businesses –but I can tell you those challenges exist! The “large business mindset” group have a tendency to look at business change or confronting challenges as “baggage that must be addressed” whilst managing the day to day aspects of a business operation.

In today’s market, businesses face many challenges and it is interesting to watch how the “people factor” of problem solving always gets in the way of solving the actual problem – I know weird, right? For many people, problem solving is a clinical discussion. “We can do it” or “we can’t”, simple as that. Yet, when “we can’t do it” is the only solution or answer, who wants to inform the organization, who owns the problem, that they cannot be helped? Consider that for a moment. Recognize yourself there already, sighing as you go into your next workshop, anticipating a hard slog or another round table debate? It is, for this reason, why many large businesses tend to look at start-ups with a great degree of jealousy. They see start-ups appearing to act nimble and addressing solutions, while they claim that they cannot move as quickly due to their size, scale and complexity. Well, I am here to tell you that a large part of that claim is simply crap. I have seen and worked in my share of complex IT systems or business processes. If you really want to achieve something you can, it may not look or work the way you thought it would, but the goal is always achievable.

What makes these start ups more successful in addressing business issues? Their attitude! They are walking into a room, not to attend a meeting, but to solve a problem. That mindset is what is driving the first aspect of their success. The second has to do with people – ever had the feeling, during a meeting that people are simply brought in to make sure everyone is represented? It happens often. People are fearful of what decisions might get made, on their behalf, that could impact how they work or what they need to do. In a start-up environment, yes of course everyone wants to chip in and be involved, but there is too much going on to have everyone involved, hence, more often than not, you will hear of meetings with only 2 or3 people looking to solve a problem, informing others of the recommendation to validate if there are any “serious” impacts or risks in moving forward. Plain and simple. So, if you ever sat in one of those meetings asking yourself – “what am I doing here?” well, more often than not, with all of those people, more actions are created and more delays become the outcome and ultimately the problem is not solved. It is then merely a case of how we plan to progress forward. Again, within a start up environment, time is literally money, hence a meeting to agree to have another meeting is not an outcome, and it means delaying a decision which ultimately could mean failure of the business. (This too should and could be applied to large business, but you already know that.)

Here in resides the ultimate challenge of large businesses, “how do you drive a sense of urgency?” – not to have everyone work harder – but an understanding that we simply must walk out of this room with an agreed view on what will be done and by whom and by when to resolve the problem or challenge. Can you imagine having the confidence in your colleagues knowing that as a team you had not only solved the problem but that you and your colleagues are about to go out of that room and make that outcome happen? Imagine achieving that same result four, five or even six times? At what point does it become business practice when staff start walking into a meeting with: a. fewer people and b. the confidence knowing they have been chosen to solve a problem? This would surely start to drive a sense of ownership in solving a problem and ultimately contributing to the success of a business.

I surely hope those of you reading this are not thinking “Well of course Nathan, it is merely a case of throwing money at it!” because that is absolutely not my point at all. If it was, then in most businesses this would result in just one aspect of the decision… where some parts would require reallocating funds. What then happens when the actions require reengaging the customer or supplier, or managing a process differently, or finding work arounds? What then? Can you just throw money at it? I think not. Having worked in both start up businesses and more mature organizations, the challenges remain the same - it is the mindset and approach we take and the people we choose to engage with which ultimately drives the right types of outcomes.

For these reasons I always encourage an organization to have a mix of people who have worked in start up businesses and understand the risks of failure, combined with people who have worked within large corporate for some time and know where the proverbial “skeleton’s” are hidden. It is very rarely the case when business challenges or problems cannot be solved. We simply need the right people around the table, combined with the right mindset, and the focus on business outcome and success. I appreciate the “easier said than done” factor, however, look at who you have sitting around your table. Do they truly believe in what you are trying to achieve? Do you have the right balance of passion and insights? A balance of managing risk vs. ability to execute? And most importantly, can you see one common agenda and view on how your business / team / or idea will succeed – if not, you are in for one hell of a journey or a path to continuous frustration.

The most important attribute of all though, don’t give up! I have met some phenomenal problem solvers out there which I can break into two groups:
• Those that can solve the problem but feel they face a wave of nay sayers or blockers making the outcome all but inevitable;
• and, those that can solve the problem and in the face of setbacks, identify a different path to get to the outcome that is right for the business.

Now, obviously I am not saying those in the 2nd category always succeed, but if you can look inside yourself and honestly say you have tried different approaches and are still not getting anywhere, then you are trying to solve the problem in the wrong place and we are back to the initial challenge of having the right people involved to begin with. No business is perfect, they all have their ups and downs but it is the businesses that have the ability to rally to a cause, empower their teams to lead where their expertise lies and drive business outcomes that ultimately succeed.

One day I am sure I will find the right group of people to solve my challenge, “I believe I can fly!” I just need some bright people to help me figure out how and then I will need to decide whether the benefits outweigh the risks? Believe in yourself and believe in the fact that there is always an answer. Your answer simply depends on your understanding of the outcomes and ensuring you have the right mindset and ownership around the table – now, if you will excuse me whilst I prepare for my first flight!

Importance of Cloud to Asia

Asia is still recognized as the growth region of the world. Look at any research firm and they will be talking about Asia and if not they will have read someone else’s report and realize that this is where the growth engine of the global economy now resides. But like any new engine Asia is not yet purring smoothly - especially for new businesses looking to expand rapidly into the region. The challenge for these businesses is how to grow faster than the competition but at the same time reduce the risk of burning out the engine before they have had a real chance to maximize its potential.


Asia is an incredibly dynamic region and unlike Europe or the US, it is complex. It is a dynamic patchwork of markets, each with their own challenges, opportunities and relationships. To be successful businesses need to be able to rapidly test new products, new services and new approaches – but with minimal risk and maximum flexibility. This is where Cloud technology comes into play.

In a market like Asia, Cloud provides an avenue to address the challenges of low risk, scalability and rapid response that business leaders have been trying to articulate to their CFOs and Management teams for years. Yes Asia is a growth engine, yes it comes with risks that mean we have to be able to change direction or approach quickly BUT now for the first time we have a Cloud technology toolkit which supports, not prevents, this agility.

Contact centres in Asia are a classic example of the need for increased flexibility, sounds like a leap right, but stay with me and I will explain. Customer engagement has become a critical differentiator in Asia. Why? Simply because it is increasingly difficult to gain any sustainable advantage through price or functionality alone. Therefore businesses need to differentiate through the manner in which they engage with their customers – which for most businesses means the contact centre.

With a population of over 2 billion, Asia has a large number of customers looking for personal attention! To retain those customers and to differentiate through service businesses need to be able adapt to their changing needs, views and preferences of engagement. That’s right, we are truly a complex people and technology hasn’t helped matters. Mobile phones, social media and applications have empowered the end user to define their individual anywhere, anytime and anyhow needs. In addition consider the diverse segments a regional business in Asia must engage with – language, culture, age, religion, nationality and above all personal preference – a significant opportunity but to adapt to all of this successfully in a static technology environment is near impossible. Hence flexible, scalable, low cost cloud services simply MUST be an integral part of any future customer experience provided by businesses in Asia.

Cloud-based contact centres provide us with the confidence that we can scale with the ever changing demand ensuring that our costs are always in line with business needs. More importantly, a cloud-based contact centre means businesses can take back control and respond to market changes in real time.

Imagine for a moment a certain country in Asia is announced as being the no. 1 tourist destination - and, as a tourist airline, that could mean big business for you. But how do you inform your regular customers and the tourist agencies that your airline is a key provider of flights to that country and that now you are going to increase flights to that country as well? Traditionally getting these new campaigns live might take weeks or even months, but with a public cloud-based contact centre you can make these changes in minutes and across all media channels. As a result you have been able to rapidly take advantage of a market shift faster than your competitors and secure new business ahead of the rest of the market. Equally as important is the confidence that your cloud technology platform will be there to support rapid business growth as and when you need it.

Cloud services in the Asia market represent a key opportunity for businesses to minimize the key risk factors often associated with high growth markets. Use these services to embrace Asia for what it is – the growth engine of our global economy. If you don’t have public cloud in the contact centre you’re not agile. And in Asia if you’re not agile you’re not competitive.

Half-Life of Technology

I can remember when my parents last bought a new TV, they had the old one for more than 10 years! With the new TV installed and in use they actually only then realized that everything looked better in HD! I share this with you as I have been thinking about the speed, at which these days, we are refreshing our technology devices. Think about it, what is the “half life” of your technology devices these days and by that I mean, at what point, are you already starting to think about upgrading your devices from the moment you purchased the last one? Half-life is the moment when you could continue to use your device but it is either so far behind the functionality of other devices or because of performance issues, it is increasingly unusable – both points, which would normally take 3-5 years, are now more likely to be only 1-2 years.


Historically, we would see significant forward leaps in technology or that our current devices, of “x” years, had simply given up to validate the half life point when we were considering a new device. However, today these changes are brought about, not by leaps forward in device functionality, but merely by the controls put on us by vendors seeking to sell as much hardware as possible, as frequently as possible. We have all seen the leap forward in functionality and speed for mobile phones, laptops and tablets over the past 20 years, however, we are seeing this definitely slowing. Don’t get me wrong, there have been some great developments in recent years, but many of these are software related. We have to ask ourselves how many of these updates, whether they be related to mobile, media or network, could actually have been made on the existing hardware or upgrading what they already have. Do you really have to buy a new device and/or network to gain the functionality through a potential software upgrade?

I am increasingly amazed to see so many new software releases on home and mobile devices being limited to a particular selection of devices – if you don’t have the latest phone, TV, media hub or home router, then the update might not work on your device … oh and by the way even if you do, it may only be applicable for the coming three releases (usually within a year). At this point, you will most likely start to reach the Half-life of your device, without even realizing it, and as you consider a new device, in order to realize the benefits of new upgrades and performance. We have all experienced hitting the well known wall of functionality or been in the position of receiving the last available upgrade designed to stretch your devices performance. This is the time they want to “educate” us in looking at new devices to realize performance gains once again. This is definitely not a circle of life (okay technology) that I was not looking to be a part of.

So, why is there a drive against reusing Hardware and the rapidly decreasing half-life of our devices? I thought everything was supposed to be in the cloud – i.e. accessible to all through your devices so that we didn’t need all of these upgrades? What happened to the services we wanted using the devices we wanted and simply accessing these in the cloud as and when we choose?

There is an exciting opportunity here to the emerging device and software manufacturers to partner and develop solutions which simplify the end device to being only a terminal and all of the smarts and computing in the cloud resulting in an upgradable system without having to change your handset – oh hang on that was called Virtual Desktop, something which can work on everything from Computers to Mobiles to Media devices. BUT, why would manufacturers want to do this when it would result in potentially selling less Hardware and more software … woah isn’t that a potential environmental benefit as well? The improvements in networks to businesses and the home mean we are ready for this change, however hardware vendors would need to change their business model, something which obviously will be difficult, as hardware results in quick revenues and software can mean lower revenues to start with but more sustainable and adjustable to the market needs

In all seriousness, something is going to need to change. The half-life of technology devices has dropped rapidly and in order to realize sustainable benefits, once again, we as the end user community and technology evangelists need to be driving a change in approach. Lets realize this push into cloud services! This will enable all of us to extend the life of our existing devices whilst leveraging new capabilities, pushed to us from the extensive number of data centres and internet platforms, that are already out there. I enjoy testing new devices but I would much rather be testing how different software solutions could maximize my device as opposed to restricting its functionality and more importantly limiting its life span to less than four seasons.

I look forward to a generation of platforms which shift the focus back to the needs of the end user experience, separate from device and platform, yet central to defining multiple scenario experiences for the end user, i.e. we decide how we want to view content, applications and services depending on the device or platform we choose to use, rather than being limited by them. Maybe this is wishful thinking but it’s my Birthday so today I should be allowed to ... right?

Bridging the Generation Gap

I had a deja-vu experience the other day, nothing like seeing a cat cross my path twice or similar, but suddenly realizing I am now in my parents shoes from some 15 years ago. Put simply, the education I gave to my parents on how to use their mobile phone was being given to me by my kids on the use of my Tablet. My daughter comes to me and says “Dad, I can’t access YouTube on your tablet.” I reply that well sometimes it doesn’t work over the Internet. Her response: “That’s ok Dad, if you download the YouTube application onto your tablet over the Wi-Fi you will find it works better and then I can always access my favourites!” To this, I respond: “Yes I know, when I have time I will set it up for you”. She then highlighted to me, “It’s ok Dad, just give me your password. I know how to set it up for you and then I can even save your favourites for you too!” Well that clearly wasn’t going to happen; she is only four by the way. Then you also have my son who somehow knows how to access the Nintendo Wii that we have and reset all of the high-scores except his to ensure his character is shown at the beginning of each game that he plays in front of his family and friends.
Now I remember as a kid the most high tech device I had was a computer console that let you play tennis, hockey and squash in black and white. I was amazed by how cool it was with all the sophistication of a single button and a dial to move your bat up and down the screen. In contrast, I now get asked by my eldest daughter to help her load music from a CD onto her iPod because it’s a bit old and she wants to listen to some of her parents music which she can’t get as mp3 tracks from her friends. When did the digital era end? The technology market has clearly changed!
The key dynamic in all of these technology changes is the user experience and what I find interesting is the growing gap in terms of the market demands by end users. For Generation Alpha it is clearly all about immediacy and own preferred technology, whereas for the Baby Boomers it is all about ease of use. These are two very contrasting views and the challenges for technology companies and integrators alike is to find a way to manage this balance, enable personalization but retain core components which are intuitive and don’t require the ability to reconfigure a device or platform to interface with their own technology. At this point I expect there are two groups pausing here and contemplating one of two things:
1) Well of course you integrate a new technology with what you have - that is how you maximize the new widget whilst at the same time retaining your own preference in platforms.
2) Why am I integrating something, it just works right?
Or perhaps there is a third group – you want to connect what to what?

You should be able to identify with one of these scenarios and interestingly, the third group is actually the oldest technology engaging generation and at the same time, the youngest. We may understand the reasons for the former, but it is the next generation that simply expect it to work, it’s all about immediacy and me, the simple expectation being I connect a new technology to my existing devices or technology and it just works because the interfaces are already designed to speak to each other. For this generation the Android vs. Apple debate isn’t even a topic - they are focused on the application and service layer.
At the point it might sound like I am referring to the obvious and also provide businesses with peace of mind that they don’t need to worry as this is why their technology is targeted at a specific market segment and if it does not reach all users, this isn’t a concern due to the size of each of these addressable markets. However this is where the slap in the face comes in. If you are trying to introduce technology into a business environment where there is a mix of users, it must be viewed as usable by all. I had one experience where what one person thought was a great conferencing platform that could integrate with all of their devices, another person felt that this required a science degree to have it work on more than one configuration.

Technology is definitely an enabler for businesses but any technology firm seeking to introduce new offerings into a business environment needs to adhere to three clear guidelines:
1. User Experience: The technology must be able to shape to individual preferences.
2. Adoption: It is not enough that one group in a business adopts the technology, it must be used by all otherwise it will ultimately fail to see sustained use.
3. Relevance: Every user must be able to translate how a new technology will improve their working environment.

Now these might sound straight forward but look at your own development teams. Can you see a mix of generations being engaged in developing and introducing a new technology to market? If yes, then your teams should be able to answer the above questions for the different generations with ease. If they look at you quizzically then be afraid, as without bridging the diversifying generation gap, your great technology or business idea will ultimately fail and you will be recognized as having developed a great technology or platform but a technology/platform that could not be used within a business environment. Businesses are often challenged with adapting to the markets they seek to operate in - it is time technology providers started to consider the same for the growing diversity of technology users within a business as well. There is a simple analogy here for technology firms, as far as survival in an Enterprise environment for technology. It is a case of adapt or die.

Business Augmentation – Back to Basic

I was asked a couple of weeks ago what is this augmentation I keep talking about, and why does it apply to businesses? Augmentation is not new, if you think about augmented reality, augment glasses, augmented amusement park rides – yes they exist!

The reason I apply it to businesses today is simply that like the other examples above they are seeking to maximize existing components and add additional capability and or scale to it that can adapt to their current market environment. Anyone familiar with augmented reality knows this is a powerful tool which can understand the current context of what you see and add additional information to it such as where a bus is headed to, availability of properties and reviews of your favourite restaurants. Now in the context of these examples you would say well of course it has to use the current capability we would be blind otherwise (literally!), fair enough, but why not use the same concepts for business? The current platforms work, it is not a case of them being no longer fit for purpose, more likely they are functionally or scale limited by the platforms they were built on and if a business knew that by adding to their existing capability they could actually extend the life of their assets and as such turn a depreciating item into a value creation item they might change their views on them.

Woah … what? Ok let’s go through an example. A business has an existing telephony system they would look to replace it or upgrade to a new platform when it is either end of life (financially), has reached maximum capacity or last but not least is no longer able to meet the functionality needs of the business. In any of these circumstances you might think a business needs to request quotations for new platforms, and previously this is most likely what a business would do. Consider equally businesses looking to grow through acquisition in a market where just about everyone has some form of video conferencing, yet there is always that concern on integration cost of communication platforms. In both of these examples any vendor would love you to rip and replace the old assets and convert to a new platform, but this only adds cost to your business which would be better spent on systems and tools upgrades/integration which tend to be more customized. Hence having access to a virtual “bridge” that allows you to leverage the assets of the existing business that can be integrated whilst using cloud based IP Telephony or video for new or temporary users/sites provides an alternative avenue and drives a philosophy of business led outcomes. i.e. decide what your business needs to do first and assume the technology is there to make it viable second.

Equally the current economic environment with its rapid changes of growth and decline across multiple markets at different times has resulted in concerns on making the right decision and timing of business decisions. Particularly when it relates to ICT investments where businesses are struggling to understand how they can find a balance between driving business improvement or growth goals against managing cost and mitigating risk. The Business Augmentation approach here creates a fundamental shift in defining the business outcome first, knowing that technology will adapt to your requirements rather than being limited by your current ICT capabilities both in terms of functionality and cost.  Think about it for a moment – how often have you considered that accelerating the growth of your business through expanded ICT and other resources could derive your next wave of growth, yet at the same time being concerns on managing risk. What if the market changes? What if competitors flood the market? What if my supply chain can’t keep up? Business Augmentation is about removing this risk, leveraging existing assets, adding new functionality – preferably through the cloud – with the confidence to unwind that functionality at a moment’s notice should market dynamics require it.

I am a big advocate of Business Augmentation mainly because it directs the discussion between people and technology where it belongs – Technology as an enabler to business and consumers and that through reducing (or even better, removing!) the risk businesses can create, innovate and drive growth with greater confidence. Technology change is increasingly regarded as a disabler as “rip and replace” or full transformation of platforms offers little or highly complex roll back to legacy platform options. Imagine for moment that your ICT architecture was linked to cloud based platforms which were used to facilitate your growth, and as you continued to grow you realized your business had established a new baseline, this could then justify longer term investment and encourage the business to stretch further with the confidence that it was suddenly in a stronger position to adapt to change.

Now this is all great in principle but we need to be able to realize these ideas, the great news is these platforms are out there today, whether it be around Collaboration, Cloud Computing, Networking and Security, we simply need to drive Service Providers, vendors and SI’s to be more disruptive and challenge the norms of upfront payments linked to capex towards a more sustainable and elastic business model which will deliver self fulfilling growth as risks become more manageable and businesses in turn take increasingly creative steps forward.

Challenge yourself, your business and your ICT relationships to change the way we work by leveraging Augment capabilities and you will quickly find there are a growing number of opportunities to create, innovate and grow your business! Hence get back to basics define your need and challenge your ecosystem to deliver!

ALERT – Internet is full! – Or is it?

Now that I have your attention, had to share this great discussion with you that I heard on Belgian radio a month ago … yes that’s right, Belgian! J … The News Reporter was talking about how the world was coming to an end because the Internet was full and an expert on the topic suggested that without drastic action businesses and consumers alike would start to see they were no longer able to connect to the internet or for new businesses even worse might not be able to establish a web presence at all!

What am I talking about? Every device that connects to the Internet requires an IP address, sort of like a unique identifier so as when communicating with web pages and other web based services the end point your computer is contacting knows where to send the data back to that you are requesting. At the moment we are hearing more about how the Domain registries no longer have IP addresses to allocate out to new businesses seeking to establish a presence, instead suggesting they establish a smaller web presence or speak to a provider about a managed service where they can bundle IP address space with other services.

So why is this an issue, well simply put when we accelerated into the big bad world of the internet, everybody thought we would have more than enough time to manage the growth of IP enabled end points. Today we all register onto the Net with a platform known as IPv4, which has a pre-determined set of IP addresses based on variants of 255.255.255.255. However the acceleration of businesses requiring visibility on the internet (because let’s face it, if you don’t have a web presence these days as a business, then don’t bother starting a business!), the number of worldwide users which have exploded over the years and last but not least the rapid expansion of IP enabled mobile devices and services all requiring IP address space in order to manage. So we can all acknowledge there has clearly been an enormous increase in the demand for IP address space, but are we really full?

Much like the early days of the Olympics when we were told that all tickets were sold you can see empty seats (I know this was quickly resolved – before anyone thinks this is an article on that happy topic!), similarly is it for the Internet. Although we are told internet addresses are all used up, we have to ask the question, if that were the case then how is it we are still seeing the growth of businesses and additional mobile devices being added? Well if you look behind the curtains you will see that although Domain Co-ordinators have run out of IP addresses to allocate – or nearly, there are a large number of Telecom, IT and even businesses that have kept a large number of IP addresses “in case they need them later” to support the expansion of their businesses. Hence in reality we still have a large number of IP addresses which if released back into the pool could allow the various organizations to manage the allocation in the most optimal way. Similar to the way airlines over book flights, if you don’t turn up to use your seat it will be allocated to someone else.

Of course those familiar with discussions around IP addresses will know that the industry has come up with a solution to the problem in the form of IPv6, which among greater functionality and flexibility will meet the growing needs of our increasingly digital world in the form of considerably more IP address space. However I would challenge the industry to look at other industries where the assumption of simply adding more capacity will solve the problems of accessibility and continue to cope with the growing demands of volume – which usually results in only accelerating the problem. Ultimately a different approach is required, as occurs with all growth industries, it can no longer be about simply adding more.

We need a new model which allocates IP addresses based on actual demand (i.e. active utilization), every single device doesn’t need its unique IP address merely those that are active. Because IP addresses do not have a price they normally are not viewed as an incremental cost by businesses acquiring them. Unlike all other aspects of infrastructure that a business would have to pay for IP addresses are not one of them, if a business had to pay for them then all of a sudden we would see a more efficient utilization. I am not suggesting here that we turn IP addresses into a profit item, but merely to derive a value and change the approach to how they are utilized.

Perhaps one way to approach this would be to have any revenue made from the sale of IP addresses to go to an Innovation Forum targeted at introducing new solutions which will enable businesses and consumers to realize the ongoing benefits of the Internet and how it can contribute to collaboration, innovation and knowledge sharing.  The Internet is one thing which connects us all, and will be a crucial vehicle for businesses and consumers alike to engage with each other, but we must give it the breathing room to continue to evolve and treat it like any other asset – Simple! … Right?

This blog is dedicated to a friend who likes to keep things simple – hopefully this is simple enough! J

Transform, Transition and Augmentation – Bingo

The other day I was cleaning out some of my old presentations which I have delivered through the years and something occurred to me, our business models have truly evolved! Yes I know, that is such a surprise and like welcome back to reality Nathan! However stay with me for a little longer, historically people would talk about transformation in order to achieve the results the business was looking for so as to adapt to long term business or market changes. Then we saw a growing trend to look at transition as businesses realized that transformation could lead to either greater costs or significant business disruption especially during increasing periods of change. Now we have entered into a new era as businesses seek to maximize their existing assets and avoid expensive rip and replace strategies in the current market environment where the only constant seems to be change, an era which I have defined as “Augmentation”.

When we talked about Transformation we would traditionally jump to outsourcing as a means of execution, I mean transforming your business on your own seemed near impossible, but by outsourcing key functions that were not core to your business allowed you to focus on managing the change with the outsourcing partner providing the people and systems support. outsourcing is still an option that people consider but increasingly less as they look to alternative options providing greater controls on costs.

Over time though we realized that transformation became more complicated and less likely to succeed due to rapid globalization, market changes and increasingly complex supply chain and customer engagements. As such it seemed a “partner” providing managed services was best suited, providing a degree of flexibility to increase predictability in your operational cost and target certain synergies in IT and communications platforms. Managed services saw a rapid growth in demand and similar to outsourcing, managed services continue to be in demand albeit reduced as businesses again look to new options for supporting fluctuating business change.

The current era of augmentation has been driven by the advent of cloud computing an opportunity for businesses to find services which are more flexible with their business needs but equally helps to maximize their existing investments.  cloud computing has not realized its full potential as yet, but new providers are helping business to realize the benefits of cloud computing through services which augment with existing platforms providing greater flexibility and scalability than previously seen.

What makes this whole evolution exciting is the waves of change are shortening, to clarify the window of opportunity for outsourcing companies has clearly passed, as has the peak of opportunity for managed service providers and now the question is how long will cloud based service providers last for. I am not saying that outsourcing and managed services will cease to exist, however they are no longer the only solution(s), but merely a part of, or provide a supporting role to the challenge businesses are looking for a solution to.

So we are no longer looking to transform, nor transition, but today it is about augmentation to maximize existing assets - which in the current environment no major surprises there. However before you nod your head feeling comfortable you are on the right track, we are awaiting the next wave which will be focused on Business Process Evolution or BPE. This will be achieved through the traditional two pillars of IT and communications finally merging through the common element of virtualization. Hence the title ... Bingo! Although this sounds like a technology puzzle game there is so much change that the key is to be able to adapt to change, anticipate it and recognize that traditional ways of working will no longer suffice. The resulting change however, will provide businesses an opportunity to redefine their business objectives first and foremost with a choice of partners to deliver on the ICT execution of those objectives.

I know many managers will read this and consider this a visionary story … however consider for a moment the diversity of software and next gen providers leveraging standard interfaces to bridge these two pillars of IT and Comm’s together. Their lack of legacy is allowing the acceleration of these types of solutions which will result in businesses focusing on business outcomes with an integrated IT and Comm’s platform that will scale with their changing business needs, no outsourcing or long term managed service required.

So what should you take away from this article? This is a message to all those feeling comfortable bobbing on those legacy waves, now is the time to start thinking about what is required to adapt to the next set of waves, because these waves of change are coming faster and if you don’t anticipate the coming changes someone else may end up deciding the future of your business for you. With that get your bingo cards ready because the next 12 months you are going to hear a lot about these accelerating waves of change and you will need to have the right attitude to survive and hopefully even succeed.

Are We Ready for Cloud?

I can appreciate that anyone reading this title will ask – what do you mean are we ready for Cloud, it’s in the market already, the market has been speaking about it for years, even in your own blog Nathan you have been talking about this? No I haven’t had memory loss – yet -  but this blog will look at a broader context of Cloud Computing.

Many businesses are already experimenting with Cloud solutions either for testing, extending data storage or generally preparing for cloud migration. However are we really ready for this change and what are the impacts it will have on our way of working? I hear many businesses talking about preparing to move their ICT into the cloud, but what does this truly mean? That their IT department has validated the systems they are choosing to use in a virtual environment or does it mean that an organization has understood that moving ICT into the cloud is as serious and potentially disruptive as any business transformation?

There seems to be a growing view that Cloud Computing will deliver cost savings to a business’s ICT spend and based on many industry reviews this seems to be accurate, at least at first. From a starting position when migrating to cloud computing businesses will most likely see an improvement in their IT and Communications spend through increased scalability; however the challenges occur when businesses are seeking to leverage the benefits of virtualization across their supply chain and their internal processes which tend to take longer to materialize in any type of transformation project.

Anyone who has undergone an internal transformation will know there are three key aspects to any business change, these are – People, Process and Systems. It is interesting to note that when considering a shift to cloud computing, businesses seem increasingly comfortable and aware of the “Systems” implications. However during a cloud migration businesses are not paying the same level of attention to People and Process, these two areas are of particular importance in an era of globalization and connected business environments. Through globalization many businesses today have staff/resources distributed around the world, either through driving efficiencies, optimizing costs or to ensure close engagement with the end customer. The People aspect of change brought about by Cloud computing needs to capture not only the impact of latency tolerance for people to access systems, but also ease of use, language, local vs. central support and managing legal and regulatory changes where people are located. Equally, a business’s processes increasingly tend to include other organizations as they no longer tend to manage from design to implementation to in life support without input from other partner’s, suppliers or even customers. These developments require greater governance and adaptability to change, something which businesses may not have had to consider in a static ICT environment where changing a vendor or system had a more limited impact to the business.

This is not meant to be a warning against the benefits of virtualisation - aka Cloud Computing, but to make sure that as a business community we look at the transition to Cloud Computing as being as broad and potentially impactful as any business transformation we have undergone or are considering. Whilst many are looking at the short term gains that cloud computing can offer, it is actually the longer term benefits of cloud computing which are more exciting as these can lead to greater business agility, a shift in aligning business performance with supplier cost and creating a working environment for business led innovation.

I am sure many out there who will read this and think I am over complicating something which is simply a managed service, yet the goal for any business must be how to drive sustainable growth, in a market where the only constant is change. It is therefore important to ensure any project is providing a path to sustainable growth, there must be a longer term set of measures for success, such as identifying efficiency benefits through unit utilization (staff or resources), or being able to demonstrate increased alignment between the pull of business requirement and the push of ICT costs, resulting in reduced bench cost and greater business agility.

Are we ready for Cloud Computing, the answer remains yes - surprised right? -, although it might sound odd with what I have just outlined, but as businesses we do have the means with which to ensure a successful migration to cloud based working environments, we need only make sure we treat this as a business change not only a technology shift. All businesses have been through some form of transformation in their business, whether that is to adapt to the market, seek out new opportunities or drive business optimization we need to refresh our learning’s from these projects to ensure a path to the outcome we are looking for in the longer term with Cloud Computing. As with any Transformation we must keep in mind the three factors of people, process and system whilst maintaining a forward looking view on the benefits to a sustainable growth outlook all the while keeping in mind the age old saying – Preparation Prevents Poor Performance!

Shift from a Flat world to a Virtual world

We have always talked about globalization as enabling businesses to leverage resources whether they are material, people or systems; these three components are crucial to support our businesses in meeting the changing and expanding needs of our Customers. Globalization used to demand the expansion into new markets with offices, systems and staff, in essence globalization used to mean businesses had to be physically global. Two key trends though have led to a significant shift in what is required to meet the needs of customers in a market where they seek to maximize the benefits of Globalization. This shift has resulted in businesses being in growth markets without having to actually be on the ground something which up until a few years ago would have been considered impossible.

I have been a big fan of Thomas Friedman’s book “The World is Flat”, which reinforced the trends that I had been seeing in Asia with the growth of international business from key geographies beyond the traditional business centre’s of US, Europe and Japan. The increasingly flat world is one of the key trends which are altering globalization; one important outcome of the “world being flat” is that quality and performance of businesses have improved significantly in what were regarded historically as emerging markets which have recently evolved into growth markets. Why would I call these growth markets? Well quite simply the development of business models have become more sophisticated and as a result have provided an improving foundation for economic growth. This development has meant that the market entry approach global System Integrator’s (SI) or Service Provider’s (SP) had taken previously can either face growing local competition or challenges in other markets as SI’s and SP’s from growth markets continue to expand their own borders of service delivery – you only need to look at the SI’s and Telco’s from India expanding internationally to see how this change has accelerated.

The other key trend is the increased capability of cloud based services and a reduced requirement for premise based solutions. This trend is creating new opportunities and extending the reach of service providers without the need for resourcing to the same extent as with premise based platforms. To give you a few examples, consider Telephony, something which has historically always been a service and a platform which would be built on the premises of the customer, yet with a evolution towards IP Telephony, making a phone call becomes the same as accessing any application on the web and in so doing creates new opportunities to look at how these services can be provided to end customers.  Likewise for our personal communication, media and entertainment tools through the web and mobile phones, as I had mentioned in a previous blog the diversity of where applications are developed and can be hosted result in traffic crisscrossing the globe and our growing acceptance of the same only validates the fact that a good chunk of our consumer IT requirements coming from the cloud will only continue to grow.

With these two key trends an exciting evolution of globalization is starting to happen, globalization is no longer about being global, it is about being able to support your end customer wherever they may be and where they expand, shift or evolve to. This is an important evolution, as many businesses have always looked to truly global providers or integrators thinking that only they can meet their needs, but with the evolution of emerging markets to growth markets as well as the expanding capability of cloud based services, the landscape and solutions to address business challenges are changing, to the point that the world is no longer flat it is now virtual.

So what does working in a virtual world actually mean? It comes down to the blending of a partner ecosystem to provide an integrated network solution whilst incorporating cloud based services which provide accessibility beyond the traditional physical limitations of a network. Many people out there will read this and suggest that you cannot own something unless you can see it, I would counter that with understanding the evolution of software – do you know where your browser is pulling down data from? A Cached server engine or a mirror website? What about the applications you run on your phone have you ever checked where the data stored is hosted from? To a large degree the consumer side of communications and IT has already started the transition to a virtual environment; the question is how quickly the business market can follow.

For many businesses the benefits of virtualization (aka cloud computing) are clear however, so are the risks and as such many remain cautious as to how to progress whilst mitigating those risks. Many businesses though, are now testing the benefits of a virtual world yet remain overtly cautious as this represents a fundamental shift from their traditional supply chain management of IT and Communications Services.  Therefore the lead must come from providers who are able to extend their capabilities beyond their traditional physical limitations and demonstrate that this new virtual world doesn’t mean that quality and performance are put at risk. The misperception that businesses without global presence cannot meet the needs of the customer independent of where they are located vs. where their customer is located remains the biggest challenge but one which can be overcome through key partnerships.

The last question we must ask is why should service providers with the ambition and capability to extend globally on a “virtual” basis want to challenge the traditional global providers? Simply put because the world is changing. Okay that is a fairly obvious point however the change stems from the improvements in technology, the quality of networks in domestic or regional markets and the increasing urgency for businesses to be able to adapt to the changing market whilst balancing the need for sustainable growth. All of these changes combined represent a evolution in the market landscape creating a new opportunity which regional providers seeking to serve their customers beyond their traditional reach are well placed to serve through the creation of new partnerships and the introduction of platforms which leverage cloud computing, in so doing providing them with the business agility to ensure their own sustainable growth place. The world was flat, now we are transitioning to virtual, the next step? Perhaps an augmented reality of being instantly virtual in a flat world – but that’s a whole other blog waiting to be written! 

Living in a Device World

How many devices do you own? 3, 5 more? I actually checked mine the other day, 3 PC’s, 2 laptops, 2 tablets, 6 mobile phones and one internet enabled TV, frightening really. The mobile phones act as a reminder to me as to how fast technology has evolved, but what I find the most intriguing is the shift in ecosystem around the end user whether that be Corporate employee, teenager or even parent for that matter. Historically it has been the Mobile Operator owning all aspects of the customer relationship, then we had the Operating System owners now referred to as the Over The Top providers (OTT) who started to build more of a relationship with the customer, understanding their preferences and starting to have a direct financial engagement with the end user, something which the Mobile Operator had owned for so long. At this point I expect most readers look at this and think – well done good to know you know where we are at! But this isn’t about where we are it is about where we are headed.

In recent reports the industry has talked about there being more than 10 billion internet connected devices in the world in the next 3 years, this represents a significant shift from the days of asking your parents to upgrade their 64kbit Data Phone line! With such a variety of devices we can now choose how we want to communicate, interact and be engaged by our various providers whether they be Mobile, OTT or a specific platform, this is creating new opportunities for individuals to connect with niche providers as they find ways of distributing their services beyond the traditional boundaries of geography or language. Today you or may not be aware but you could find your messaging originates from the US, your voice app from Israel, your news from Germany, your games from Sweden, your online shopping from HK and your security from France (at least for me anyway)! Less than 5 years ago all of these would have been provided by your mobile operator as the single source of communication and data services some would see this as just the evolution of technology but I see this as a missed opportunity.

The most unique thing of living in a device world has been the evolution to ALL IP based platforms for all forms of communications whether that be Voice, Data, Video or even application. For Mobile Operators this is their 4G or LTE networks, for fixed operators this is the fulfilment of W-Fi canopy’s across cities, all of which ensuring access to the end user and hence the ability to offer services consistently to their customers without the risk of other providers hijacking their customers. This access anywhere offering though also means that Mobile operators and fixed operators are opening their networks to OTT’s and app providers to engage directly with their customers, some network providers have taken the approach to charge for access to these OTT or app providers or even limit connectivity to them through DPI (deep packet inspection) technology. There is another approach though and some network operators have seized the opportunity – the creation of their own ecosystems whether that be cultural or language specific applications and content which can work on any network but drives voice and data back onto their own network. One recent example I have seen is the creation of a language specific messaging and social network application developed for a particular highly migrant population, one which has been successful despite the diverse online offerings available.

Operators need to seize the opportunity and become Over the top providers to the OTT’s of this world, the Operators still have the ultimate relationship with the customer, one which – for now - is unique to them – they know who the end customer is, their billing address and their preferences for communicating with the wider world. The Operators are still responsible for the end connection to the customer and instead of defending against the “dumb pipe” analogy which is thrust upon them they need to turn this to their advantage through the creation of dynamic ecosystems around the end user, independent of device or application used yet remaining relevant based on their preferences and engagements with friends, family, colleagues and systems. Some operators would see this as a risk and for many stepping outside of their comfort zone can be a concern, but I would suggest act now or competitors will seize the opportunity and those competitors will be OTT providers and other network operators alike.

We are living in a device world and contradictory to popular belief that with so much diversification markets and solutions would become fragmented, however new opportunities are arising with the potential to actually make OTT providers just another element of the ecosystem an ecosystem which the operators both fixed and mobile can be responsible for facilitating to the end user. The world we live in remains as dynamic as the diversity of our global culture, hence the opportunity is not short term, we will continue to live in a world of devices and it is up to individual operators to decide on what role they will play … Carpe Diem!

No Big Bang, Just a Passing in the Night

In this ever changing world of technology we are seeing a very interesting trend. Previously I wrote about the Next Big bang which I thought would involve the merging of IT and Communication Providers; it would seem however that it was more a passing in the night of two large forces than an actual collision to create a new wave of services.

In today’s market we have Hardware vendors now being driven to sell software in order to sell more hardware and software providers now selling more hardware in order to sell more software – still with me? I had expected or rather hoped that the Big Bang theory would create new partnerships between Hardware and Software vendors to leverage the shared strengths of both as opposed to vendors trying to over extend. We talk about the need for Businesses to adapt to the market around them to survive this could not be more relevant to technology companies but that shouldn’t mean these technology companies try to manage beyond their core strengths.

Okay that might sound vague but we only have to look at the wonderful new world of cloud computing to see how Hardware Vendors and Software Providers are trying to gain new market share or for many of those providers already in the hosting space trying to protect their existing business. It is this attempt to try and conquer all which is creating a new market dynamic. Cloud Computing is on the verge of significant divergence with so many different models offered by a vast array of providers both hardware and software alike.

The implications of these differing Cloud Computing models are that technologies moving into the cloud are increasingly becoming tied into specific cloud platforms. That is to say instead of being able to choose your own combination of a cloud computing platform and then your choice of Communications and IT services, business will now need to identify which services work with which platforms without the need for customization.  I am worried that although cloud computing was supposed to mean less customization and greater ease of use we are going end up with the exact opposite. The result being extensive ongoing customization and complex systems requiring intensive resource support diverting crucial resources away from businesses focus because of the increased hands on requirement.

This is because Hardware Vendors and Software providers alike feel the need to fulfil each other’s role rather than look at partnerships. This to me is a missed opportunity and one which businesses will end up having to managing. There is hope however I have seen a new wave of communications and IT service technology businesses that are working to remove the complexity of customization by taking on the integration requirements themselves embedded within their service offerings. This is intriguing to me as I had predicted these new providers/innovators to come about through the seamless integration of Hardware and Software, but it has been the gap which has developed between Software and Hardware vendors instead which has created an opportunity.

I am excited to see these new providers offering hope to businesses to leverage the benefits of new technologies whilst avoiding the worry of managing change. Augmentation helps businesses avoid rip and replace, and let’s face it in the current market environment no one wants to replace their existing systems. At the same time though businesses realise it is important to continue to drive towards sustainable growth leveraging the ongoing evolution of technology albeit based on the outcomes of their business goals rather than technology limiting those goals. Did you get all of that?

Best of Breed should always be about the choice of the customer, I am hopeful that these new technology companies will keep alive that opportunity for businesses to look at the blending of cloud computing with Communication and IT services as an opportunity to reduce customization and improve ease of use. So I would ask Hardware and Software providers to take a look in the mirror, stay true to their business focus and leverage these new providers in maximizing their own strengths and ultimately retaining their focus in meeting the needs of their customers.