Consider Cloud Computing --Sherburne

I WAS recently at the On Demand show in Philadelphia. For any of you who attended, I am sure you would agree that it was small, but vibrant. There is a growing emphasis by suppliers to the industry on the delivery of integrated—rather than point—solutions, which was very evident at this show. Consider Web-to-print as an example. There are many very functional Web-to-print solutions in the market that allow you to improve the customer experience and make it more convenient for clients to do business with you. But if Web-to-print orders must then be processed manually, you are simply moving the process bottleneck to another location in the workflow. There is huge value in being able to receive an order via the Web, have it automatically preflighted and imposed (if required), pass information to your print MIS, automatically create a job ticket and any required notifications, and even put the job right into the print queue with, in many cases, as few touches as possible.

Soar Into the Clouds

So, while purchasing a Web-to-print solution is a must in today’s environment, it is also important to look beyond to how it fits within your organization’s overall business and production workflow. Many companies offer this type of end-to-end solution and, with the increasing prevalence of JDF and other standards-based implementations, the range of required solutions doesn’t necessarily even have to come from the same supplier.

In fact, there are more partnerships and alliances being announced lately than I can recall since the heydays of the 1990s dotcom boom. This is a sign that suppliers are working hard to ensure that their offerings deliver a value that is greater than the sum of the individual parts, by leveraging their own or partner solutions to achieve this end-to-end unity.

One of the high points for me at the show was the Google keynote. It was actually part of the AIIM conference that shared the convention center with On Demand. This is the second time I have listened to a Google executive speak at one of these events. Rishi Chandra, product manager for Google Enterprise, titled his presentation “Collaboration in the Cloud.”

You might be asking yourself, “What does this have to do with me or the printing industry, or On Demand and end-to-end solutions?” Actually, a great deal. Let me explain.

According to Wikipedia, “Cloud computing is a style of computing in which dynamically scalable and often virtualized resources are provided as a service over the Internet. Users need not have knowledge of, expertise in or control over the technology infrastructure ‘in the cloud’ that supports them.” In fact, the term “Cloud” is used as a metaphor for the Internet, an abstraction for its complex infrastructure.

During his presentation, Chandra pointed out that many of the computing tools we use today were designed with individual productivity in mind. But, today, optimum organizational performance is generated when groups can work together collaboratively and efficiently, even if they are not in the same geographic location. As a writer, his example highlighting how inefficient today’s processes can be really resonated with me.

He suggested thinking about creating a word document, perhaps an important proposal. It needs to be reviewed by five different people, so we use e-mail to pass the electronic document around. Four of the five send comments back, and the originator must spend time (maybe even hours) assimilating the changes into one document, sending it out again for another review. Meanwhile, that fifth person who was late with feedback finally sends it in. But that feedback is now based on the wrong version, causing another investment of time and effort to consolidate everyone’s feedback into a unified document.

In the “Cloud” model, the document would be a living document stored in an online repository. Everyone would be given access to the same document, so changes could be logged in real time, and all changes would be visible regardless of who made them.

The repository would also track all of the versions, making it relatively easy to go back to a previous version to see what was done, or even revert to those previous versions if necessary. This is a simple example of a simple tool (available today, of course, with Google Docs) that uses Cloud computing to streamline a collaborative work process.

With Cloud computing, data and applications reside on the Internet and provide a new paradigm for running an IT infrastructure. Sometimes this is referred to as “Software as a Service” or SaaS in today’s vernacular, but Cloud computing implies much more than a single application. It has the potential to both reduce costs per user (leveraging the “Cloud” investment across a large number of users) and increase the revenue per user (because people are more productive).

It also offers seamless, universal accessibility. No more worries about whether you are using a Mac or PC, let alone a Blackberry or iPhone. It doesn’t matter what technology you are using or where you are using it from, because applications are easily and securely accessed with any Web browser.

There are many examples of printing-related applications already in the marketplace that are leveraging this concept, which is growing in popularity and adoption.

Cloud computing also speeds up business processes, a key competitive differentiator in today’s crazy world. As Rupert Murdoch once said, “Speed matters. Big will not beat small anymore. Fast will be beating slow.”

Make the Transition

Maybe Cloud computing isn’t in your model today, but it is certainly a pulse you should be keeping your fingers on. Many printing companies struggle with attracting and retaining talented IT people, especially considering the financial resources a dedicated IT staff requires.

They struggle with keeping their various software applications up to date and the costs associated with that. In a future Cloud computing world, products can be dynamic, changes are incorporated instantly (instead of waiting a year for the next software release), and there is no new software to download, install and manage. Security must be considered, of course, but that is also true of local networks and computing security continues to be enhanced every day.

The printing industry—as well as other industries—is in a period of severe structural change, driven in large part by the accessibility, efficiency and speed offered by the Internet and resulting digital media. The current economic situation is accelerating those structural changes as more marketers and other communicators turn to alternative media in lieu of print. As we proceed into a recovery, we will never again achieve the “business as usual” that we have grown used to in the printing industry. We must prepare ourselves and our organizations for the reality of our future. Cloud computing is one element that can help us make the transition.

During his presentation, Chandra shared this quote from Albert Einstein: “The world we have created today, as a result of our thinking thus far, has problems which cannot be solved by thinking the way we thought when we created them.”

A little convoluted—I guess you would expect that from Einstein. So, I will share a similar statement that one of my former managers used to always make: “If you do what you’ve always done, you will get what you’ve always gotten.”

Either way you want to look at it, the world is changing rapidly and we must change with it. I encourage you to take the time to stay current on technology trends such as Cloud computing, and to creatively look for ways that technology can enhance, and even dramatically change, your business. In the months and years ahead, if we do what we have always done, I fear that we will not even get what we have always gotten.

We must find new ways to do business and deliver new products and services to offer our customers. Spending time with thought leaders such as Rishi Chandra is an excellent way to get started.

I hope you will set aside some time each week to enlighten yourself and your organization about how the world is changing, and devote time and effort to understanding how to ensure that your company changes with it. PI

—Cary Sherburne

About the Author
Cary Sherburne is a well-known author, journalist and marketing consultant whose practice is focused on marketing communications strategies for the printing and publishing industries. She has written six books, including “Digital Paths to Profit,” published by NAPL; and, most recently, “No-Nonsense Innovation: Practical Strategies for Success,” written with Bill Lowe, the father of the IBM PC, and scheduled for publication this spring. She can be contacted at Cary@SherburneAssociates.com.