Cloud Computing and Freedom of Expression

Led Zeppelin

I just spent an hour doing what was unthinkable 10 years ago: I recorded a Led Zeppelin song, “Ten Years Gone,” on my doubleneck acoustic guitar using my pocket-size digital video camera, and uploaded it to YouTube for anyone to view (here it is). In the past, I or anyone would have needed to weave through various entertainment-industry channels to get a video recorded and distributed to a large audience. There are many contingencies, dependencies, and expenses involved in that process!

With YouTube and other video sites, the audience is now limitless and timeless for anyone who wants to create and share videos. Social media has created an unprecedented freedom of expression and ability to connect; it has also expanded our ability to learn in ways many of us couldn’t imagine 10 years ago. For example, I can watch many of the great guitar masters and learn from them anytime.

Enterprise cloud computing has an appeal similar to the freedom of expression that social media has created. Rather than having to deal with many contingencies, dependencies, and expenses, like building a data center, buying and configuring expensive hardware and software, and waiting months or years for the result, cloud computing provides nearly instant access to the applications and data that businesses and users need for success.

In the past, it was difficult to get a dashboard or a report created; it often took months and considerable expense. Now, as author and former CTO at SAP Nenshad Bardoliwalla points out in point five in this post, “basic reporting is now a commodity” because of software-as-a-service business intelligence (SaaS BI).

Cloud computing also provides freedom of expression in that more end users who could benefit from a business-intelligence application, for example, can actually access one because SaaS BI can be turned on and off instantly for end users. It also allows companies the freedom to try new applications, such as eiVia for predictive analytics; Mimiran for price optimization; BranchIt for enterprise relationship management; and mashmatrix Dashboard for enterprise mashup dashboards that can reveal new insights that were unthinkable even five years ago. In this post, “BI for the Front Lines,” Birst Founder and CEO Brad Peters illustrates how SaaS BI can be rolled out to more users for better business performance.

The Led Zeppelin song, “Ten Years Gone,” is about a decision between a girlfriend and a career in music. Fewer than 10 years ago, enterprise IT, finance, and line-of-business executives needed to decide between requests for important information services. Now, the lower cost and rapid deployment of cloud-based systems make those decisions easier or eliminate them altogether, resulting in a freedom of expression that I think will lead to a better business climate and business performance ahead.

Thousands of years have gone to get us to this point; I wonder what insights and capabilities we will have 10 years from now that are unthinkable today.