Changing the game

There are two aspects when talking about the new normal that really need to be highlighted. The first is what the cloud does and the second is what is done with the cloud.

Some commentators have been dismissive of the cloud computing trend, pointing out that it is still client/server architecture with the servers just connected through the Internet. Technically, that is correct, but this view ignores the major differences involved with cloud computing.

Companies are investing in the cloud to improve efficiency and reduce costs. That much is a given. Innovative and forward-looking companies are moving more than just data and storage services into the cloud. They are also moving platforms, applications and even infrastructure to the cloud.

The cloud is not just changing the corporate network. Because it can be accessed by any authorised user from practically any connected device, it means the user experience is almost completely mobile and no longer time or location dependent.

They can play at work or work at home.

Andrea Lodolo is chief technical officer of CA Southern Africa

That is literally a game-changer. People can access cloud services when and where they choose. They can play at work or work at home. This is a fundamental aspect of the new normal. The present generation of users exemplify this trend and they expect nothing less. This is genuinely a disruptive trend that changes old models of work and lifestyle, probably forever.

Companies that hope to survive and flourish in the markets of the future have to come to terms with this. They must take into account what users expect. These users are both their workers and their customers.

This means the new normal is much more than just the cloud or the new technologies or devices that are so much a part of cloud discussions.

I mentioned previously the signposts seen at the 2011 Consumer Electronics Show. Tablet computing and a range of Internet-enabled domestic appliances were prominent. Since then, there has been the latest Mobile World Congress, where smartphones were obviously in the spotlight.

But this is only half the story when it comes to the new normal.

This brings me to the second aspect that is so important. It is not the hardware or software that is the focus. It is the user experience and what services and content can be accessed.

Stop and consider what TVs with Internet connections, other domestic appliances with Web access and phones that offer 3D screens (and even their own 3D cameras!) really mean. These are all consumer products and they inevitably carry some aura of the status that comes with owning and using the latest device.

In the end, however, the reason why people buy them is not just to have them as some sort of technological fashion statement. People buy these devices because they open up new possibilities for their lives: convenience, access to content and services, mobility and so on.

One might say that part of any discussion of the new normal is that it is consumer-driven. This differentiates it from previous generations where the technology limited what people could do. And, in previous times, that technology was often not owned by the user. It was bought, owned and configured by the company.

Now there is a generation who own smartphones and other mobile computing devices that are often almost as powerful, and probably far more flexible, than the company-provided equipment they use at work. It is the cloud and cloud services that supply the flexibility. The hardware is no longer the primary issue.

The real decisions that businesses need to make when considering how to deal with the new normal revolve around this question: 'What can we provide in the way of services and content that makes our company more attractive for customers and, simultaneously, a better experience for all users, including our workers?'

Answering that question involves taking a few steps back from what might be called a top-down view of what users want. The bottom-up view is to find out what they want. The old model was top-down because the technology itself had limitations. Once upon a time, there was no generally available broadband, and before that there were no mobile phones. Users got as much as the technology could provide, but no more.

Now, a lot of constraints have simply disappeared. Users are voting on what they want by the services they choose. These services are now almost universally available.

There is a parallel trend in Web content. What users could get from the Internet used to be a “push” model. Now, with massive uptake of social media and widely available “citizen journalism”, it is the user's decision what they will access, not the publisher's.

This is where the cloud and virtualisation of services has taken this generation.

Apart from the obvious business advantages of the cloud that any company can achieve, the real winners in the immediate future will be those who recognise that the new normal is something of a two-way street.

Companies are dealing with a community of users who are only a click away from going elsewhere. Compelling services and content are needed to keep them loyal, whether they are on a smartphone, tablet, laptop or desktop.