While in NY for CloudExpo in mid-June I discovered the latest food craze in NY, Shake Shack. I passed by the restaurant several times during the week and was never able to try out a shake or hamburger as I didn’t have enough time to wait in the long lines. In fact, I am not sure I have ever seen such as long line for a burger joint with the exception of a city getting a new In-N-Out Burger. Talking with people at CloudExpo from NY, I was not shocked by all the rave reviews about their food and how it was worth the wait.
So, what does this have to do with cloud computing? A great deal actually. Shake Shack highlights several concepts currently happening in our industry:
- Word of Mouth – More powerful than a locomotive, customer testimony and referrals are a significant part of the technology industry. Like sheep, a great many of us are highly influenced by what peers recommend. In cloud computing there is a tendency to follow the leader with Amazon being the 800 pound gorilla in public clouds.
- Follow the Shiny Object – People are always fascinated with the latest and hippest technology and want to be part of the revolution. We see this in cloud storage with a company like Dropbox.
- Blinders On – I’m convinced just about everyone eating at Shake Shack will declare its greatness regardless of the actual meal. Being a dissenter and going against the crowd is difficult. Thus, most people looking at cloud solutions will tend to go where everyone else is, regardless of their needs.
It is critical for consumers to be aware of these tendencies when considering cloud solutions as the business needs for every organization are not the same. In fact, cloud buyers have a wide array of options from public to private to hybrid as well as hosted, managed, etc. Just getting in line with everyone else will get you a cloud solution, but is it what you need?
At Dell, we take great pride in working with our customers to deliver complete solutions that meet their business goals and drive their company forward. Cloud technology is a part of the IT strategy for many companies; however, it is also a tool for solving business needs and must address those requirements to truly add value to the business. Simply getting in line at the Shake Shack may appear to be the obvious answer, but only by understanding your true food desires at that moment can you justify waiting in line.
For more on Dell’s Cloud Vision, listen to Kevin Hanes discuss our approach at CloudExpo 2012: