The Big Switch - An unstoppable Force

The book "The Big Switch" by Nicholas Carr is a fascinating look into what is happening with Computing  and computers today. It's a succinct and compelling story of the current move to the Cloud.

Compelling because we are so exposed to it that most of us don't even realize it is happening.

Carr goes into great detail about the last big switch that happened over a 100 years ago with the advent of electricity. It tells the story about water powered manufacturing, Edison and the societal revolution he started with his invention of a system that distributed electricity to it's users.

Edison had to invent an entire system, the first distributed networks:

• Devices to produce the electricity,
• The electric light bulb that he hoped would replace gas and oil fired lamps,
• A method to measure how much electricity you used and
• A way to get that electricity to you at a lower cost than alternate sources of light and power to drive manufacturing.

By the time the Edison General Electric Company became General Electric, there were many thousands of small central stations that produced electricity to homes and small business over a one mile square grid. Direct current being generated couldn't be transmitted over long distances and manufacturers built their own power plants using those components that General Electric and other competitors sold them. At the turn of the century, private electric plants numbered over 50,000 whereas there were only 3,600 plus central stations.

It took one of Edison's own protégé's to see beyond his own vision.  Samuel Insull switched to alternating current and built giant utilities that soon displaced the private electric plants and smaller central stations. He made the production of electricity so inexpensive through economies of scale that users of electricity simply could not afford to ignore his new distribution system.

Carr likens that revolution which transformed our lives in such a big way to what is happening today with computing. Like the distribution of electricity, the economies of scale just now coming to bear with giant cloud utilities will make the move to cheaper more reliable forms of computing inevitable.

Like the evolution of distributed electricity, the current move to the cloud will displace a workforce which is no longer needed and, over time,  will create a whole set of new opportunities.

Just a little example.... Only 10 years ago, migrating your stuff from one computer to another was a complicated affair. Most people hired techs to do the work because it was just beyond our abilities. These days, many of us have made the move to the cloud. We buy a new computing device, log in to our cloud accounts and it's all there. This 100% ease of migration isn't available to everyone of course.... not yet.



And, as they say, THIS is what inspires me. I  want to ensure that every small business that I help manage, takes full advantage and sharpens their competitive edge.