Watching a recent Salesforce.com partner presentation, we got to see firsthand where the technology world is going. The age of Cloud 2.0 is here. We are moving from fixed environments to web-based, real-time environments. No longer are computers chained to the desktop, now the mobile worker is free to go anywhere.
More importantly, they are updated in real-time on the status of their coworkers, their projects, their subordinates, their customers, all through the new technology of Chatter, within Salesforce.com. If you haven’t heard of Chatter, think of it as Twitter for the corporation.
Social media such as Twitter and Facebook are creating a generation of people who expect real-time updates on their friends and co-workers. Being aware of what people are working on and how they are solving problems through collaborative technologies are more examples of Cloud 2.0. Facebook has become a giant part of the web. In fact, in the younger generation, Facebook is the web. In general, if not monitored, you are likely to find more people on Facebook than on their business systems at any time. So why not bring the power of Facebook to business systems? That is what Salesforce is attempting to do with Chatter.
With the release of the iPad, there is now a tablet based mobile technology that can bring the web vividly to anyone, anywhere. At first, we thought it was purely and entertainment platform, but the more we understand it, the more we see that Apple is now moving to both a mobile and web based computing platform. It could probably be the next generation of Macintoshes for the cloud generation. People are now able to create, produce, and develop from anywhere there is a cell phone signal (or wifi).
Here is Salesforce’s view of Cloud 2.0. This says a lot!
| Cloud 1.0 | Cloud 2.0 |
| Amazon.com | |
| Tabs | Feeds |
| Pull | Push |
| Click | Touch |
| Desktop | Smartphone/Tablet |
| Fixed | Mobile |
| Location Unknown | Location aware |
| Windows/Mac | Cocoa/HTML5 |
No longer are we talking about managing a business from within the four walls of the company. Businesses can now operate virtually. Further, sales will love this new technology as they can prep for their meetings in the parking lot with real-time pushed data, they will be able to connect to their customers and build relationships and then report back immediately via their iPad to their CRM, and they will have real-time insight into everything about that client by way of the mobile web.
As you can see the combination of social media, interactive CRM and ERP, and mobile touch computing such as the iPhone or iPad are changing the landscape of computing and IT. It is an exciting time to be in technology!
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