Cloud computing is the new buzzword, at least untill the next one comes.It’s a reality we can’t ignore, even if it’s more about a question of place than about technology : it’s the place where things happen.

Let me explain. Consider someone who is able to work alone and must work this way. It’s the efficient model that was proposed by Taylor decades ago. No one needs nobody else and has to repeat the same task endlessly. It’s easy, in such a context, to know where things  happens : they happen at the individual’s level and it’s easy to calculte in which proportions each one contributes to value creation. Tools are on the groung, beside the person that operates them without any kind of interpersonal interaction. Everything’s so easy in a perfect world.

But one day the perfect world breaks into pieces. Companies realize than a worker can do nearly nothing on his own, that he has to exchange with others, to things with them. Worse ! They have to innovate, find answers, fix problems togethers. And in order to do that, they’re provided with tools : phone, email, forums, wikis, blogs…

For decades business have ben ran following a cost driven approach, trying to answer these questions : who’s doing what, for whom, how much does it cost, how much does it bring in… I let you answer these questions today. Take also into consideration that the “old” model supposes that each player operates appart from the others and can be evaluated individually, that his performance is not impacted at all by his colleague’s…. Headache in sight…

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