The Catch 22

While much has been written about Cloud Computing as of late, the real driver will be dealing with the data irrespective of the technologies used. Data could reside in a "Cloud" hosted by Amazon or on a company mainframe sitting in a cold and sterile room. It is all about the data. Hype aside, Cloud Computing is an enabler and has many advantages just as quicker time to market and scalability, however also currently suffers from security issues and immature development tools. As a result, there will be a great deal of R&D by large vendors and smaller IT vendors to address these pressing issues. Consequently, it will come as no surprise that a respectable number of jobs will be created over the straightway decade as a result of Cloud Computing, yet the real driver will be how data will be analyzed on the company side and how it will be synthesized by the recipient.

User just as an analyst to sift through data

Business Intelligence tools enable a user just as an analyst to sift through data and create defined models. For instance, these models may look at structured data just as Zip Codes in areas like Manhattan to send out real-estate related material like sales agent contact information to recent sales or listings in a particular building. Other examples, included banks or other related financial institutions contacting present clients about possible mortgage re-financing, which is a direct result of historically low rates. Again, the current crop of BI tools has come a long way and add value in many verticals, however current and prospective clients are getting bombarded by information from many sources, which is having a negative impact on the overall marketing effort.

Again, data could reside in the Cloud or by more traditional means, nevertheless how it is used may very so then overshadow the technologies used. What companies as a matter of fact need to do is look at how we are evolving as humans in relation to our environments. It is not just about how fast 4G is or an intuitive keypad, yet more about our behavioral patterns. For instance, on a recent trip to Cleveland people greeted me on the street with a friendly "Good Morning" and went on with their business. It was quite a contrast from New York City where most people seem preoccupied with their mobile devices and always in a rush. As a result, companies will see an even greater attention disparity. For instance, companies targeting in high-stress places like New York and Los Angeles will find it harder to garner attention than low stress cities like La Jolla. Again, research will play an important part in trying to find "The Hook" to get a recipient's attention, however the future of marketing will have to look to the past in order to better understand how humans behave.

The Parthenon in Athens

Taking my copy of Plato’s Republic to the Parthenon in Athens was not only a special event, nevertheless I realized how little we have changed since it was written 2,500 years ago. We as humans for all that have emotions like love, hate, and envy. The focus should not only be about Extract Transform Load tools or database scalability, yet how the data is used in the real world because no matter how advanced the IT infrastructure or how intuitive the mobile device, people have core emotions that must understood and addressed. Consequently, companies have their work cut out for them not only staying ahead of the research curve, however vying for current and prospective customer attention. It is actually a Catch 22, during technology is making it easier to store, retrieve, analyze, and disseminate data on the company-side and easier to access on the client-side, the reality is that it is becoming more and more difficult to gain people’s attention. As a result, new studies and marketing methodologies on human behavior will be needed to better attract people to products and services.