Recently I started reading a book names “Influence by Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion” by Dr. Robert Cialdini. There were six principles discussed in detail, but the one which caught my attention, relating to cloud adoption, is “Social Proof”
Dr. Cialdini talks about a term called peer-suasion. Am trying to provide a simple meaning of this along with persuasion.
Persuasion - the act of persuading somebody to do something or to believe something.
Peer-suasion – acting due to peer pressure.
This brings up the below questions:
- Are organizations adopting cloud due to peer pressure?
- Is this impacting their goals and business performance?
- Is there a proper due diligence done before adoption?
- Is there a plan to manage and maintain resources in cloud after adoption?
So, I asked these questions to the latest sensation “ChatGPT” and below is a summary of the answers, along with my opinion.
1. Are organizations adopting cloud due to peer pressure?
ChatGPT - while peer pressure may play a small role in some organizations' decisions to adopt cloud computing, it's more likely that they are motivated by the numerous advantages that cloud computing can offer.
My opinion – While the advantages are a strong motivation, I still believe that the peer pressure plays a major role in cloud adoption. What if the competitor benefits more, while we are stuck with traditional methodologies? Though we have many advantages in the latest technologies, being more selective in what moves to cloud and what remains within the DC will make a lot of difference
2. Is this impacting their goals and business performance?
ChatGPT- Yes, cloud adoption can have a significant impact on organizations' business performance. There are several ways in which cloud adoption can improve an organization's operations and bottom line.
1. Cost Savings
2. Scalability
3. Improved collaboration
4. Enhanced Security
Overall, cloud adoption can provide organizations with a range of benefits that can positively impact their business performance. However, it's important for organizations to carefully evaluate their specific needs and goals before making the decision to adopt cloud computing, and to ensure that they choose a reliable and trustworthy cloud service provider.
My Opinion:
Yes, I agree to an extent with the above response on careful evaluation before we migrate to cloud. However, I have some concerns about the following benefits mentioned:
· Cost Savings – not necessarily, if not governed properly, cloud can be costly.
· Scalability – Completely agree, cloud is scalable!
· Improved collaboration – Not sure to what extend – this is a neutral comment.
· Enhanced Security – again, doesn’t matter if it’s cloud of on-premises. The security is managed by the customers.
3. Is there a proper due diligence done before adoption?
ChatGPT - Yes, organizations typically conduct due diligence before adopting cloud computing. Due diligence is a process of assessing the potential risks and benefits associated with a particular technology or investment. In the context of cloud computing, due diligence involves evaluating the cloud service provider's capabilities, security measures, and compliance with regulatory.
My Opinion – Yes, organizations want to do proper due diligence for cloud adoption. However, do they have the right skills, experience, and tools to do the same? Not all. This is one area where the service providers has to pitch in as consultants and help organizations to identify the right cloud solutions for the specific needs and requirements.
4. Is there a plan to manage and maintain resources in cloud after adoption?
ChatGPT - Overall, managing and maintaining resources in the cloud requires ongoing effort and attention from organizations, and it's important to establish clear policies, procedures, and controls to ensure that cloud resources are managed effectively and securely.
My Opinion – Agreed. This requires a lot of planning and governance. Traditional support teams may struggle to keep up with the pace of change. Hiring new members and upskilling the current team will need more time and organizations have to plan it accordingly to avoid challenges in maintaining the IT environment. Organization change management will play a major role in implementing this. Hiring consultants who has implemented this in other organizations may ease things by using the knowledge gained already.
Overall, the social proof concept is impacting the cloud adoption. Cloud service providers are well aware of this and making good use of it to improve their revenue. Though, slowly things are getting clearer for the organizations and soon they will start thinking on their own without being persuaded!
#CloudAdvisory