Time for mainstream Linux!

After reading more on Dell's IdeaStorm about Dell's proposed actions to offer pre-installed Linux on more of their desktops and laptops, it came to me that if there are any CIOs out there who are NOT experimenting with Linux based operating systems and OpenOffice 2.0 (or other web based applications like Zoho), they're crazy.

Eliminating the Microsoft "tax" is the next big cost savings opportunity for your IT department. Not only does their software cost more and more as a percentage of the cost of a PC or laptop, the forced upgrade support costs are completely none value adding (IMO).

Many companies must now support at least two operating systems (assuming they're running Microsoft exclusively) as PCs and laptops "refresh". And anyone who has gone through this learning curve knows the pain; applications that don't quite work the same way (or at all) under the new O/S. Then there's the learning curve of the employees (and your IT department!).

Even those intrepid souls who try to keep standard by upgrading older machines are faced with the possibility of having to upgrade memory, video cards etc or face deteriorating performance. Our end users don't need to be put through this! The whole exercise is simply non value adding for most companies.

So perhaps the time has come for the great Linux and OpenOffice experiment. What have you got to lose?

Some Predictions!

1. Jobs that will become in high demand in the future: will include Business process Engineers, Organizational Development professionals and Technologists. Increasingly U.S. businesses will compete based upon the effectiveness and engagement of their people, their effective and efficient processes and the tools they use. Managers (in the traditional sense) will become increasingly irrelevant

2. PowerPoint presentations will be considered "old school". They will be replaced by video as Generation M enters the workforce. The "YouTube effect" will mean that younger persons entering the workforce will increasing become more comfortable with video capture and editing as a means of communicating and collaborating. Certainly, most people I know would rather view a 10 minute video than read a brochure or a website for the same information.

3. Communications will "come alive and converge" in the form of multi-media blogs. I recently played with embedding both video and a PowerPoint presentation in my personal blog. It was VERY simple to do (I consider myself the lowest common denominator) and I think will make for much more interesting presentation instead of multiple embedded links which lead to more text pages.

4. Collaborative social skills will propel the wiki to new heights in usage. What seems to come naturally to so many of the "younger generation" will revolutionize the way information is captured and continually refined. Most will see this as the smart way (the only way?) to work. The older generation's watch phrase "Knowledge is Power" will take on a new meaning: "Shared Knowledge is Power". Collaboration will be King.

5. It will take some time, but Mash Ups will rule the world. Mash Ups bring together various web services to create applications on the fly. Here's an informative video from IBM on their QEDwiki..

Web 2.0 video

Here's one of the best videos I've seen which explains the phenomenon called Web 2.0.





Here's a Powerpoint presentation I made a couple of years ago and just recently uploaded into Zoho...

Watch this space!

A couple of days back, I wrote about Dell's new IdeaStorm project - the one where they allow anyone to make suggestions to Dell regarding their product and services offering. I hailed it as a highly innovative and courageous decision. I still believe it is.

But, what's next? After recently reviewing new posts, the newer ideas generated less than thirty days after the opening of the site seem very narrow and specific. The major (most popular) ideas seem to be unchanging. The two most popular ideas suggest that Dell offer Linux as an O/S option (and make their PC drivers Linux compatible). The second most popular suggestion is for Dell to offer OpenOffice2.0 as an installation option.

If anyone out there has ever participated in a brainstorming session, all the great ideas (most obvious?) seem to get generated in the first 5 minutes, followed by dozens of suggestions with ever declining value. Can it be that after only a couple of weeks, Dell has mined all the great ideas?

So the trick will be - how Dell tries to generate sustained interest and participation in the site. In my estimation they need to:
1. Quickly identify the best ideas and respond to them (They are doing this).
2. Implement some of them.
3. Archive the IdeaStorm database and clean the slate every 6 months to allow other ideas some prominence. Right now, there is so much clutter that even if a great idea was submitted today, it's unlikely that members would find it, to vote for it.

Another idea I would have would be to duplicate IdeaStorm for each country where they do business. In this way they could solicit country/cultural ideas that might help them better serve Global customers.

I applaud Dell for their courageous initiative and truly believe that we need to "Watch this Space".

Have you visited Dell's new IdeaStorm?

About a month ago, Dell launched a brand new, leading edge, daring experiment called IdeaStorm. If you're unfamiliar with the concept, Dell has started an open suggestion/discussion forum with its customers using many of the concepts from Digg. The software was developed by Crisp Ideas and private branded by Salesforce.com.

Their IdeaStorm site allows users to suggest improvements to product and services offered by Dell. All users can then "vote" acceptance for the ideas they like. In this way Dell begins to directly solicit product and service improvements from their customers.

I think this is a very novel idea and an exciting one, but it's a double edged sword. By allowing customers (and I may be making an assumption here - users need not register using real names, nor do they have to be customers) to register suggestions, Dell is obliged to respond to the most popular.

Early on, the process was a free-for-all, with many duplicate posts, accusations of censorship (Dell was actually merging similar ideas and votes to help reduce the suggestion clutter). The process seems to be stabilizing somewhat now.

Interesting enough, the top ranked suggestion was for Dell to offer (free) Linux O/S instead of shipping all PCs and laptops with Microsoft Vista. The second most popular suggestion? Install OpenOffice2.0. Clearly the IdeaStorm has attracted many Linux fans.

What this has shown me (and Microsoft?) is that consumers want choice in their operating systems, directly from the hardware supplier. Obviously anyone can download their version of Linux, post hardware purchase, but the fact remains that they had to buy MS software they didn't want in the first place! As the price of computer hardware declines, the pre-bundled software is becoming an ever increasing portion of the purchase price.

The fascinating thing about IdeaStorm, is that Dell's competitors (like any participant) can see the suggestions and voting. If Dell doesn't act, their competitors might!

And it makes one wonder what the folks in Redmond are talking about this week.