You Can't Buy the Customer Experience

4/2/12 - Votacall Hosted VoIP - Boston Massachusetts - A recent Network World article discusses how all of the majore carriers are trying to get their share of the Cloud. CenturyLink, Time Warner and Verizon have all made purchases to make a Cloud Play. This makes complete sense, they will lose money and marketshare without an offer but the problem is you cant purchase the customer experience. These companies are monsterous organizations with levels upon levels of red tape and product portfolios busting at the seams. Now, the Cloud is a flexible idea that will grow, change and mature over time...it practically has a heart beat. So the question is, how can companies that are too big to maneuver with grace and agility handle the constant change and demand for change in a Cloud environment? The answer is, they can't. The best analogy I can think of is these large carriers are like the Titanic. Do you remember in the movie when the ice berg spotters are watching Kate Winset and leonardo dicaprio skipping around the ship because they are so in love only to notice an Ice Berg too late? They ring bells, shut down engines and pin the wheel trying the turn the massive ship. The ship lumbers to the left slowly, slowly, slowly and SLAM! They hit the ice berg. The take away is this, when change occurs dont be with a carrier that lumbers toward it, align yourself with a carrier that 1. have Technology enthusiasts looking for the change (not at kate and Leo) 2. is Agile enough to get there early.