12.28.07
Posted in Work at 11:26 am by JohnB
Traditionally this time of year is when we reflect on the year that’s gone and plan and look forward to the new year ahead.
I have to admit I’m not one for making ‘New Years Resolutions’ but I know that it works for some. I do feel though that, in the hosting industry, we should actually take a little time to review what’s happened in 2007 and see what we can do better in 2008.
The last year was one of stark contrasts for me. I saw the dawning of a new acceptance of the SaaS (Software as a Service) paradigm by a much larger section of the hosting industry, the realisation that our customers are becoming more and more aware of what it means to remove the boundaries between the ‘office’ and the internet and the value that can be derived from doing this. And I saw some of the most innovative uses for the current technologies being used to deliver real, usable poroducts to the customers too. The flip side was that I still saw too many hosters resting on their laurels, backing away from risk and hiding in their own history. “It worked before, it’ll work again!” may be true but it represents an element of stagnation which is almost the antithesis of where we came from. We were a set of risk-takers who didn’t follow the market, didn’t wait for someone else to come up with a solution and say ‘Look, me too’, we defined the market, we showed what was possible and how things should be done.
To this end I have one wish and one “Resolution” for the year ahead… I will encourage our industry to innovate, to break the moulds, to stop selling hosting by the numbers and start offering services which our, much larger, customer base need and will want. In short 2008 will be the year in which our industry will evolve further and faster away from the glorious geek-dom in which we’ve dwelt and into the bright lights and fresh air of the consumer market space and we’ll do this with product everyone can understand and everyone will want. We’ll do it because it’s right and because we can, not just because someone gave us a “solution” which made it easy.
It’ll be hard work, it’ll take effort and courage and there will be those who fall by the wayside. These are the things we MUST accept if we are to move forward. But it must and will happen.
Good luck to us all and I can’t wait!! 
- J.
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12.20.07
Posted in Work at 11:06 am by JohnB
Part of what I do is to examine the processes of organisations and see how they need to be altered and streamlined to take account of the introduction of a new product, service and/or technology.
Typically these activities start in the same way, a bald statement by the customer saying that they believe they are a slick as they could be given the restriction put upon them by… <insert external/budgetary/historic/personnel/personal reason here>. Usually after a pretty intense round of questioning accompanied by much chair scraping, furtive glancing, excuse making and shrugging of shoulders it’s acknowledged that, yes there probably are some simple changes which could be made which would not revolutionise, but could certainly ease the current processes.
The key with this process is to remove all of the personality and ego from the process. Even though I may have described a process which seems to work, I’m not averse to the possibility that there may be better ways to do it, and this is the mind set with which this exercise should be approached. Nothing is a personal attack or criticism it’s simply observations from a new perspective.
But this new perspective doesn’t have to be from an outsider such as myself (although I’m always happy to lend a hand ) It can be achieved by simply being honest and asking one question over and over again until the reality of the situation reveals itself. That question is “But why?”.
Typically the root of these things is a simple and unstructured as
“It’s just always been done that way” or
“it was the cheapest way” or even
“I don’t actually know, and neither does anyone else”
Once you’ve reached this point you are able to being again and start rebuilding your processes to fit where you are today. There one thing I’d like to say about those root statements up there.. none of them are wrong, they just are. What’s more in the context of the time it may have been perfectly valid to choose the cheapest solution because it fit the business case of the time. The point here is that whatever you decide to change today not only will, but actually should come under the exact same scrutiny at some point in the future and with this in mind do yourself or your successor a favour and document everything.. remember “I don’t actually know, and neither does anyone else”? You’ve got the power now to ensure this isn’t repeated!
- J.
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12.19.07
Posted in Work at 9:50 pm by JohnB
I attended a workshop/session thing a little while ago entitled simply “Innovation”. I put my name against it simply because I have a fascination with all things new and shiny. It could be called being a big kid, but I’ll live with that! J
The surprise of the morning was that the session was simply about innovation, what it is, where is comes from and how some people are seem as innovators; this all explained through the medium of Art, from the Dutch masters of the 16th/17th century through the likes of Pollock and on to the pop art and graphics driven productions of today.
Now I’m no big art fan, I can appreciate a nice picture as much as the next life-form but that’s always been it for me. But knowing a little about the artists and the rationale behind some of the work I began to understand things a little more. And I also totally ‘Got’ the message of the session. I made a few notes, as one does, and the one which has stuck with me was this (I’m quoting it, but it’s mine.. you can use it but it started here.. OK! )
“An epiphany is the crystalisation of prior concepts and experience into a single idea.” – John Brown 2007
The morning also gave me a sort of structure from which to hang my own thought processes and I now understand a little more about the way my mind works. I’ve been called an innovator in the past and pretty much accepted it as a sort of compliment, or at least a reasonably positive comment on what I was doing, but now I know what it actually means in a referable way, I’m actually very flattered that people have seen me in this light.. long may it continue!
- J.
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