In recent years a profound switch has taken place in who has the technological advantage. Not so long ago, it was big organisations – government and corporations – that had the resources to lay their hands on the most sophisticated systems.
Yet in recent years, mired in regulation and bounded by cost, their systems have become cumbersome. Most people working in corporates wait months or years for upgrades to clear the IT department. People have to go through hoops to get some new app added to their system. Meanwhile, at home, it’s not that hard or expensive for many of us to get the latest thing.
Where organisations require big technological firewalls, as individuals we can be nimbler, make more personal judgements for good or ill, and network very easily.
The tech advantage is now with the customer, not the corporation. The smartest network bypasses the corporate hierarchy. I think the significance of this has yet to be fully experienced.
And in his recent video, Tom Guarriello made another telling point: even when we’re inside the corporate firewall, many of now have in our hands our own private computer – so what use is it the firm trying to ban us from facebook, or whatever?
