Spontaneous Ecosystems

Bill Loumpouridis

“Web 2.0 is what happens when the barrier to entry is essentially zero.”

At the O’Reilly Web 2.0 conference in 2007, a nascent technology wave was building, and this quote was part of my enduring memory of a time when both Web 2.0 and what we know of today as Cloud Computing were beginning to take shape.

The importance of the quote relates to “free” resources provided by Web 2.0 Cloud providers – free online development platforms, free online storage, and even free hosting. Or, resources were so cheap that they were essentially free. This reduces the barrier to entry to essentially zero for tech entrepreneurs, and is how you end up with tens of thousands of free apps for Android, Apple, and (even) Microsoft, virtually overnight. This creates spontaneous ecosystems of programmers, searching for the next big pool of consumers.

Cloud Computing is enabling new ecosystems and new innovations at an extraordinary pace. This is because infrastructures that used to take months to plan and years to execute are ready  to enable the next ecosystem right now. Almost no viable business concept can’t be activated via a successful viral campaign. Look at the way Groupon hijacked the local retail ecosystem — and how hundreds of copycats have sprung up virtually overnight.

Nokia’s CEO, Stephen Elop, describing Nokia’s greatest challenge going forward, stated that Nokia “must build, catalyze or join a competitive ecosystem.” My guess is that Bill Clinton would have stated it more succinctly: “It’s the ecosystem, stupid.”

We’re excited to be a part of this rapid transformation of the business landscape, and to help enable it through Cloud Computing. Do you have an ecosystem story you’d like to share? Send it to me at bill.loumpouridis@edlconsulting.com.