Book Review: Business Models for the Social Mobile Cloud by Ted Shelton

Business Models for the Social Mobile Cloud was released in January 2013, when the technology and adoption of what author Ted Shelton describes as the “Social Mobile Cloud” were still at an early stage.

The book is divided into 3 parts, attempting to predict 1) how these new technologies will be used, 2) how this will impact businesses and organisations and 3) how individuals and businesses can adapt to these changes.

Part One

Social technologies allow for the connection and communication between any individual or business and any other individual or business.

The typical example of these technologies are social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn, allowing users to connect, share and receive information from any individual or group they choose. Another aspect of social technologies to consider is how members of an organisation, or employees in a business can interact with anyone else in the organisation. This could be the use of internal communication tools, sharing of work and artefacts, and collaboration either in real time or asynchronously.

Mobile technologies allow a user to be in any location and remain connected to their network.

When we say Mobile, we don’t purely mean the device, such as a consumer using their mobile device to purchase something on the go. It means the ability to conduct transactions regardless of location, so could also refer to a customer purchasing a product from their comfort of their home. For employees, it means communicating and collaborating with teammates in different locations around the world, from home, the office, or elsewhere. Friends and family can also communicate in real time from any location, for example, posting photos and videos to their online profile, or sharing live experiences of sporting events via group discussions.

Cloud technologies allow for constant access to data, regardless of location, time of day, or the device being used.

Cloud storage means that all users are not only connected to each other from any location, but that they are accessing and sharing the same data store at all times. The cloud storage being used can be accessed from any device as long as the user can identify themselves. Conversely, other individuals, businesses and organisations may be granted access to this data in real time.

Part Two

The second part of the book outlines how the technology of the Social Mobile Cloud will impact businesses and organisations. To start with, it removes any previous barriers connecting individuals or businesses, such as location, time of day, or access to a specific device. With these barriers removed, the book then looks at the new opportunities, business models and ways of working that may arise.

• The first suggestion is that the social mobile cloud will lead to reduced transaction costs. These reduced costs should not mean keeping existing process running at a lower costs, but introducing new business models to take advantage of the lower costs.
• Reduced transaction costs allow for business models focussed around persistent digital engagement with customers. This ranges from contact with a customer support agent when making a purchase, to follow ups on both successful and dropped transactions. It can also more consistent contact with engaged users outside of sales transactions, encouraging a stronger relationship to the brand. The most engaged individual users can themselves act as marketers for a product through their own use of social technologies. Businesses will need to be more transparent with users and build long term relationships with them, rather than trying a hard sell for an individual transaction.
• The digitisation of products and services caused by the social mobile cloud will cause the value of information to increase dramatically. User information will be of value to businesses in determining the needs of customers. The speed at which this information can be accessed allows for faster decision making, access to feedback and development of new product features and services based on that feedback. Customers will also find value in access to user information, as review sites, ratings and other crowd-sourced recommendations help guide them in decision making.
• Hierarchies in organisations will give way to connected networks, as the value in controlling information will be overridden by the value of having it spread throughout an organisation. Management will instead be focussed on the timely, cost-effective flow of valuable information internally and externally to the organisation. Greater transparency and less control of information will allow for great empowerment of employees allowing them to make decisions without management approval. Common access to the same information will also allow for greater collaboration between employees.
• Increased workplace collaboration and organisational transparency is aided by the technologies of the social mobile cloud. It will also lead to an improved employee work environment and job satisfaction. The business will benefit by improved results as employees working with the best information are allowed to determine how to best achieve business outcomes, rather than following prescribed rules.
• In addition to persistent customer engagement, gamification strategies of the type used by social media providers can be transferred to the workplace to allow for persistent employee engagement. With the workplace no longer tied to a physical location, and employees enjoying a less controlled environment, management must look for new ways to encourage employees to engage in workplace activities. Gamification can be applied to activities such as update of HR systems, or informing team members of progress on project work, to encourage employees to engage voluntarily. Social Mobile Cloud technologies allow employees to receive rewards for their engagement, from simple positive feedback, scoring of engagement against peers, or tangible employee benefits such as vouchers or time off.
• The social mobile cloud will redefine the physical process of how we buy products. The technology will allow users to make payments and purchases from any location at any time. A customer’s phone may be able to access and store payment tools, or even act as the payment device itself. Customer rewards and employee benefits may take the form of digital currencies. Digital currencies themselves may become more widespread as the digitisation of transactions evolves.

Part Three

The final part of the book advises on how individuals and businesses might adapt to the social mobile cloud. As described above, the predictions in the book are mainly outlined as broader concepts and ideas. In keeping with this, the advice on adaptation is also broad and focussed on mindset more than specific steps.

The recommendations cover why individuals and businesses may be resistant to the changes brought about by the social mobile cloud. Habits, Identity, Defensiveness and Expectations are all described as elements that may cause such resistance.

The key to overcoming this resistance is the ability to embrace the changes. In the same way that business models will have to adapt to the social mobile cloud, individuals and organisations will also have to shift to a mindset of openness, transparency, and collaboration. The emphasis will be on the ability to move fast and adapt as the technology changes and the information available changes. Decisions will need to be made at a faster pace and feedback welcomed. As results of decisions are returned at greater speed, the ability to embrace both the success or failure at greater frequencies is also a skill that must be learned.

Review

I read this book almost 10 years after its publication, with social mobile cloud technologies used to the point of saturation, and the associated business models massively evolved. Having said that, I found the book a lot of the time seemingly stating the obvious, giving an indication of how well founded a lot of its forecasts have proved.

Reading it now, the value is not as much in the forecasts, but in taking a step back from the specifics of the technology. We can instead look at how they have removed previous barriers to communication, such as location, device and time of day. With these barriers removed, what are the implications? How will customers, businesses, employees and organisations be impacted and how can they adapt?

Knowing how this has played out over 10 years, the book was a light read. Writing this review, and articulating the ideas at a more conceptual level, it occurred to me how deep the changes have been. In many ways, we may only have completed the first cycle in the evolution of this technology. With each cycle, an even larger range of opportunities for change will be made available, adding to what has already been built.

As such, I would strongly recommend this book for anybody working in the area of social mobile cloud technologies. I would also recommend it for anyone with any influence over their organisation’s structure and business models. The social mobile cloud will touch everything in any organisation or business, and its capabilities are only just being realised.

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