As noted in recent post and comments, PSA needs competence and ongoing relevancy not only in DLE design and construction, but also in all the other parts of a successful implementation of DLE cloud tools. At minimum we need to know the general challenges in the “fields” of marketing and distribution and platforms…and how those three fit together in enabling or limiting successful bottom line of adoption by learners.
(Hopefully I paraphrase adequately here from a recent conversation with Gary): There are certain problems of how to align the four horsemen of the disruptive apocalypse…product prototyping, marketing, distribution, and platforms; the timing and relationship between those four elements is tricky. In addition, there’s the challenge of how to lead “customers” to take the necessary risks of commitment to new tech.
IOW, you can have a great prototype, but you will likely need someone to “buy into it” with capital to finish development and roll it out. Unfortunately, corporate, as well as institutional, leadership tends to be conservative and take a wait and see approach. Which can be a self fulfilling prophecy, in that new products generally lack the “I really need this” awareness of potential buyers. Also, they often don’t know what they would like it to be when developed further. So waiting and seeing is basically saying no.
Gary suggested it’s about finding the early adopters that “get it” about taking the necessary risks; those who have the confidence they can navigate the tricky challenges of ever changing standards and formats and devices.
For some perspective, and perhaps some stimulation to the imagination about some of the challenges involved, an article in the New Yorker from Nov 24, 2014 discusses a lot of the machinations in the ongoing disruption of the music industry below. Also of note: Gary pointed out that Spotify has recently announced plans to start a video streaming platform. So it goes.
[gview file=”https://publicservicesalliance.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Spotify-Friend-or-Foe-The-New-Yorker.pdf”]
To clarify my comment, with a new market, one needs to identify early adopter customers – someone with a unmet need and the orientation and resources to try something new to fix the problem. In the enterprise (and to a large degree the government), this is someone that has a budget and some form of operational responsibility – it is most assuredly NOT a purchasing manager.
ahso…thanks for clarification Gary. Note editing changes to reflect your “guidance”.