How Do We Market Cultural Shifts?

Changing ingrained ideas and habits is a long, difficult process. When society is used to things being a certain way, a dramatic shift in direction can be jarring and leads to misunderstandings and low adoption rates in those who aren’t constantly trying to keep up with the latest developments in technology and culture. Though it’s not an entirely new concept, cloud computing is, for the first time, capable of being used by consumers on an individual basis, marking a huge shift in the way that people will store and interact with their data. The way that cloud providers are marketing their services will play a huge role in adoption, which is why it’s important that they target areas of the highest interest to users. Areas like the various tiers of service available, the reliability and accessibility of the cloud, ease of use and lowered/deferred cost can be major selling points to consumers.

Upgradability

One area of computing that most users are unfamiliar with is the ability for storage or processing capabilities to be increased without purchasing a brand new machine. Cloud computing offers the ability for users to easily upgrade their online file storage capabilities on the fly, eliminating the fear of running out of space for data. Furthermore, cloud web hosting platforms give users flexibility with processing power, allowing them to increase their capabilities when required and dial them back down during low processor-intensive tasks.

Reliability

As long as a user has access to the Internet, their cloud services will be available (barring a major network outage). Because users are giving up control of the physical device on which they store their data, they demand a higher level of reliability from cloud providers. This means that they need to provide nearly 100% up-time for their services, which they nearly universally promise. In the event of an error, cloud hosting providers generally have robust failover and backup systems that allow them to recover quickly, with little service interruption.

Accessibility

By its very nature, cloud computing provides near universal accessibility. Users can access their data from anywhere in the world on multiple platforms and receive nearly the same user experience. Many cloud providers have iOS and Android apps that clients can use to view and edit documents, scale their services or view the status of their site or services. This is especially useful for traveling employees, who no longer have to worry about forgetting an important presentation at home or the office. Instead, they can access their documents online.

Ease of Use

Many cloud providers make it easy for users to access their services. Google provides one unified login for all of their cloud offerings, enabling users to switch from one service to another without going through multiple login pages. Further, they display their most-used services prominently and make it easy for users to access their lesser known platforms. Dropbox, a cloud-based file storage solution, integrates itself with the user’s file system, allowing them to drag-and-drop files they want to upload to the cloud and syncing files uploaded elsewhere.

Cost

In order to drive user adoption, cloud hosting companies need to convince consumers that their services can provide the previous benefits while still saving them money. Cloud services are typically paid for on a monthly recurring basis, allowing providers to spread the cost out in small payments. The cost of cloud services are often far less than the cost of purchasing a new computer.

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