How To Drive Success In The Cloud: Secrets To Boosting Adoption

Featured article by By Marcel Florez, Senior Vice President, Cloud Practice at N3

Cultivating employee buy-in is a prime concern of managers any time a new tool or process is implemented. The more resistance an initiative faces, the more likely it is to ultimately fail.The path to increased efficiency isn’t always smooth, often requiring nudges to help people get out of their comfort zones and move forward.

With on-premise technology solutions, the motivation to buy-in and adopt is often overshadowed by financial concerns because the investment requires large capital expenditure. So even if efficiencies aren’t fully realized or functionality don’t meet business needs, the company is stuck — the technology is left in place until the expense can be amortized or written off. This often forces managers to encourage, or require, adoption of technology that they know doesn’t work well.

Cloud platforms and software as a service models have completely disrupted business operations, causing the concept of buy-in, or adoption, to move into new waters.

Because of the variety and volume of available solutions, all with relatively low barriers to entry and exit, business managers may take a more laidback approach to using a new solution or forcing adoption. They can continually try out different solutions until they find what resonates with their teams, losing little more in the process than a few monthly subscription bills and some headaches in the IT department.

At the same time, adoption has become absolutely crucial to the success of platforms that can be replaced so easily. Vendors have realized that making an initial sale is no longer the endgame. Now it’s just a starting point, and the real value is in driving adoption and usage.

The most successful providers of cloud services are those who know how to get users aboard and keep them engaged, not the ones who are most effective at moving initial trials and migrations. A solid cloud services provider is a tremendous partner in helping drive adoption, taking on a role that has until now, been handled almost entirely internally.

Companies can expect their technology vendors to help them drive adoption across the organization. But what, specifically, do the smartest cloud providers know that is making them valued partners to their clients?

Education and training are key. A survey of over 200 business development representatives at N3 revealed that more than 70% of cloud services users do not use accessible tools properly or completely. People who do not understand how to use software correctly are quick to get frustrated and jump ship. Enabling users to obtain the full value out of their tools is the fastest way to get and keep buy-in, turning them into advocates.

Knowing this, the best cloud service providers are quick to provide the necessary support to drive adoption. But this goes beyond the traditional role of offering customer support only to those who ask for it directly. Vendors can look at metrics like which users are watching training videos to discover who needs assistance now and reach out to them proactively to ensure they are getting the most from the software – before they start looking elsewhere. Many providers are also offering more technically savvy support than ever and can help solve compatibility conflicts of all sorts quickly, taking pressure off internal IT resources.

Successful adoption requires multiple touches. The same survey found that 80% of users require at least two touches before they begin utilizing a new service; half of all users require four touches or more. The notion of “build it and they will come” is not a given in the cloud.

The lesson here is that adoption is attainable, but it requires discipline and engagement to achieve. Even extremely user-friendly solutions requiring little to no training will land with a thud when employees are not actively engaged and encouraged. Service providers are excellent partners in helping drive adoption through actions like sending out reminder emails, offering tutorials, and contacting users to help remove utilization roadblocks quickly.

The power of personal engagement is king. More than 70% of survey respondents, whose job it is to drive adoption every day, said the telephone is the most effective mode of communication to get users engaged because it encourages active conversations that draw out problems and solutions. While email and online chat are also effective, the immediacy of a phone conversation is unparalleled and ensures both parties are focused on the discussion.

Modern cloud solutions tend to be quite user friendly, which can dangerously lead managers to believe brief training or supplying printed documentation is sufficient for getting their teams on board with a new solution. In fact, the opposite is true. Taking the time to talk to users and find out what they like and what they are struggling with makes all the difference in their willingness to adopt new solutions quickly. A customized approach to training over canned lessons and an open door to follow-up questions are sure paths to long-term buy-in.

Although it may not immediately seem obvious, some rather tried and true methods of obtaining buy-in, like education, multiple encounters, and two-way communication, are necessary in our automated world of digital communication. They are proven methods to ensuring users actually adopt the best solutions made available to them. When evaluating cloud partners, seeking one with a track record in helping drive adoption can pay huge dividends.

Marcel Florez is Senior Vice President, Cloud Practice at leading sales execution firm N3, where he serves as the worldwide lead in managing sales generation for Microsoft cloud solutions. With more than nine years of experience in technology sales, marketing, and consulting, he integrates digital, voice, and social media channels to generate measurable revenue growth. Florez holds a Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance and Master of Business Administration in Entrepreneurship.