Adjusting your Cloud Product Deployment/Offer to a Coronavirus Driven World — Introduction
Any business decision-maker considering a cloud or Software as a Service (SaaS) product deployment today has a challenge. You may be a CxO considering how to accommodate and scale remote working (think collaboration tools — Webex, Zoom etc.) or deploy a new cloud-based contact center platform. Or a Reseller that needs to be able to deliver a new cloud service that customers are demanding. Or a Service Provider that needs to tune an existing product offer to match fast-changing customer demands. Or a Software Vendor that needs to enable partners to be able to react efficiently to a changing market. All in a world that has been turned on its head by the Coronavirus pandemic.
In a recent HBS article, Howard Stevenson and his colleagues make some key observations:
- Understand that we are all dealing with a complicated problem
- We must be clear about what we know and don’t know
- Don’t believe anybody who claims to have definitive answers
- and don’t make any long term bets
What are the key things that you should focus on that will make a difference in this fluid future? This series of articles is aimed at business unit owners, product owners, and product managers. It looks at best practices that work and also highlights common errors to avoid. I highlight all the way through what I have learned, with a bit of luck, there may be something in there for everybody.
Faced with the current challenges, working out what options you have, and what to do next, is complex. The Fox Model outlined in “The Mind of a Fox” (Illbury & Sunter, 2011) provides an effective framework to identify potential options and actions. Consider those elements that are under your control, and where there is some certainty. Consider what is not under your control and then plot options and a path forward.
The lower half of Fig 1 (quadrants 1&2) focuses on questions that you must try and answer before you attempt to frame options. The upper half then considers all potential options and potential actions or decisions.
To provide extra context, the Value Proposition Canvas (VPC), and Business Model Canvas (BMC) serve as useful frameworks. This is important when considering quadrants 3 & 4.
The VPC helps to keep you focused on the problem that you are trying to solve, while the BMC serves to consider all aspects of your business model.
I have used the deployment of a cloud-based contact center as the working example. I will cover the aspects that need to be considered when building new a contact center product offering or when looking at changing an existing offer. If you are considering moving from an on-premise contact center to the cloud, there are useful pointers for you as well.
This series of articles is broken into 4 topic areas based on the Fox Model quadrants:
- Part 1 (q1): The Rules of the Game — all those things that you know, and those things that you know that may be changing or have changed.
- Part 2 (q2): Key Uncertainties and potential Scenarios to consider — starts to highlight possible impacts on your business.
- Part 3 (q3): Specific Options — areas where you can make changes, consider specific actions to refine your proposition.
- Part 4 (q4): Decisions — suggestions on where you can make a positive impact and see immediate benefits.
This may all seem awfully theoretical and strategic, it is not. Everything should be practical and should be read as such. I am writing this during the lockdown, as more information becomes available and new insights are gained. The content will be updated in the relevant section and I will highlight any updates as they happen.
If you feel that you want to comment, agree, disagree, make an observation; please feel free to comment. I will come back to you. Or you can connect with me on LinkedIn.
