Page 208 - How Cloud Computing Is Transforming Business and Why You Cant Afford to Be Left Behind

MANA GEMENT STRATEGIES F O R THE CL OUD R EV OL UTION

At the same time, this new business platform is capturing
more customer data through the interactions that are going on
in the cloud. It can make that data available to customer sales
and service representatives in close to real time—as it happens.
When it seems appropriate, a sales representative might jump
in and point out things that can be done that the customer ap-

pears to be interested in doing. No longer does the customer
have to go to the store to have an encounter with a knowl-
edgeable floor salesperson. It’s all available online. And the
software events created through all these interactions contain
clues to what the customer is looking for and what he’s likely
to be willing to pay for.

The Cloud Sets Off a New,
Disruptive Way of Doing Things

It wasn’t so long ago that Tim Berners-Lee enhanced the In-
ternet with a few simple conventions that let documents be
posted, linked to, and read remotely. The first phase of the
Web was one of read-only information, and while businesses
could adopt it as an additional communication medium, that

advantage was spread around fairly evenly and disruption of es-
tablished businesses was minimal.
The second phase of the Web was the distribution of infor-
mation plus narrowly defined services. It was characterized by
simple interactions, and it limited computing by the end user,
which usually amounted to making a few entries in a form in a
browser window. Some industry segments were disrupted, and

188