Forbes reports that for inspired or forward-thinking organizations involved in cloud computing, cost savings and efficiency are just the icing on the cake. What they really are pursuing is something deeper to the business– to develop high-powered analytical capabilities. They look at cloud and see analytic opportunities.

My experience in supporting multiple organizations in moving to cloud services is that without strategic governance, cloud services aren't so much better at enabling analytics as opposed to provide additional repositories for data to be stored and managed.  If you're just shoveling e-junk from one repository to another, analytics won't help you.  

A move to the cloud requires a clear strategy and a strong governance policy to ensure that strategy is met.  As the old saying goes, "garbage in, garbage out".  Moving to the cloud allows you to purge your files of what your company is no longer required to retain for documentation, and to create a clear classification taxonomy that will allow your employees to find the relevant information that they require to perform their jobs.  And that doesn't begin to address the requisite security aspects that must accompany your data.  

Once you do move your content to the cloud, and ensure it is clear and classified, you can utilize analytics to help you in any number of ways, including identifying further opportunities for your core business. 

Paintrock Consulting can help you plan your cloud move, as well as the governance and security policies your organization needs to manage your data.  

Many interesting takeaways from "Sustaining Change Momentum", Human Resource Executive Online. By Kecia Bal, September 16, 2013.

Employee engagement doesn't always filter down to managers, so you have to train them on how to keep employees engaged -- asking for input, involving employees in the change and going first via role modeling. You also need to help managers understand why people resist change.  Because of this behavioral need to adopt a change-supported groundswell, e-learning or online training for handling change are ineffective.  

Yep, I said it.  I have seen e-learning pushed throughout an organization as a means to drive adoption to change, and this fails consistently, from the word "Go". 

Humans are habitual creatures, and as such, change is difficult for most of the population.  That includes your employees.  Requiring them to sit through an online video and test module, when they feel they could be doing their work - for you - just creates a forced and unnecessary conflict. 

Additionally, I don't agree with the HR trend to train managers to speak better about topics that are unclear to them.  This would rather illustrate the first line of failure in effectively communicating change from the top down, via speaking at your employees, rather than speaking from a personal perspective, to them, about the coming changes. Managers can better usher change in through personal rollout sessions than through recorded speeches.

Towers Watson research report, Critical Human Capital Issues 2013, indicates 3 of the top 10 issues with employees involve dealing with change.  Encouraging employee support of a change initiative is best met through communication - early and often - and employee engagement through interactive training.  

This is one of the services Paintrock Consulting can provide your your firm, large or small.  From working with key executives to develop the Communication plan, to development and implementation of Train-the-Trainer plan through the Management ranks, through workshop-styled full scale employee engagement sessions and town hall meetings. 

PCS will be participating in the Wyoming Broadband summit in October...and live-tweeting it to boot!  The core goals of the Wyoming Broadband Summit (now in its second year) are admirable:

• Developing a Unified Network for Wyoming
  This consists of combining the Wyoming Equality Network and State Agency Network to create a 100 Gigabit core with redundant high-bandwidth routes through all communities to help make the IT sector the 4th largest industry in the State
  
  
• LinkWYOMING
  A Federal grant program from the National Telecommunications Information and Administration (NTIA)
  
  
• First Responders Network Authority (FirstNet) - 
  Part of the National Public Safety Broadband Network
  
  
• Fiber Optic Build 
  Using existing Interstate Rights-of-Way
  
  
• Federal Regulations
  Addressing changes on the horizon with Universal Service Funding  and Connect America Funding 

Update:  I was pleasantly surprised by Governor Matt Mead coming right up to me and introducing himself, while thanking me for being one of "Wyoming's new IT business entities"! The benefits of registration...