People tend to understand new concepts through analogy. This is especially true in the world of technology. When there is a groundbreaking technology that has no analogy, it is considered to be disruptive. Disruptive technology is so revolutionary that those who use it effectively will do well, and those who do not will fail. Disruptive technologies disrupt the status quo.
Spreadsheets are my favorite example of a disruptive technology. I'm old enough to remember when VisiCalc, the original spreadsheet, first entered the market. I was working in an R&D lab developing real-time operating systems for factory control devices. Some of the marketing folks came into my lab area and asked me to explain what this "VisiCalc thing" was all about. So lucid and thorough was my description of spreadsheet technology that my audience nearly lapsed into a collective coma. When i mercifully stopped lecturing, the Marketing Director asked "so it is like a word processor for numbers?" Flabbergasted, I stammered and answered "sort of." "Then we'll just type numbers into our spreadsheet, it is easier!" he replied. On their way out, one of the marketing execs muttered "why didn't he just say it was a word processor?"
Of course it was nothing like a word processor, but people learn new concepts by making comparisons with things they already understand. It takes a long time to form an entirely new concept, and ironically the people who understand the most about prior technologies have the toughest time adapting to the new concepts. That is why disruptive technologies are disruptive-- they shake up the status quo and provide a chance for new businesses to overturn established businesses. Now that everyone understands the concept of a spreadsheet, spreadsheet users are absolutely everywhere.
Although hard to imagine now, spreadsheets caused quite an upheaval in corporate culture. Prior to spreadsheets, if you wanted a computer to calculate something for you then someone had to write a unique computer program. With spreadsheets, literally anyone can create, modify and use a sophisticated business model without asking IT for assistance. In fact, this originally created a huge problem for IT departments. People tended to think that computers magically generated correct answers, and so they were unprepared for the spreadsheet's ability to make wrong answers look very impressive. And so we come to Sarbanes-Oxley.
When spreadsheets generated wrong answers, the user would complain to IT that the spreadsheet wasn't working. The hapless IT support person would answer with something like "what do you want me to do about it? It is your spreadsheet!" This did not improve IT's reputation with the rest of the business, and led to stress-eating and significant weight-gain among the IT people. It took a long time for the average knowledge worker to gain a personal handle on the old adage "Garbage In / Garbage Out." Each individual user had to take responsibility for spreadsheet results. This was very awkward at the time, but it led to more effective integration of technology and business.
SharePoint represents a similar revolution in the technology world. SharePoint, like the spreadsheet, puts the ability to create, modify and manage complex web solutions into the hands of every end user. Just as anyone can use a spreadsheet, the intent is that anyone can use the building blocks provided by SharePoint to solve information management problems.
The problem facing SharePoint is not technical as much as it is cultural. It may be awkward until the knowledge workers realize that SharePoint has set them free to make their own tactical decisions, but that with freedom comes responsibility.
Interesting comments Mark, but I have to disagree with your definition of "disruptive technology."
In your term, everything that's new is disruptive. The concept of disruptive technology actually comes from Clayton Christensen and is best found in his book called "The innovator's Dilemma." Wikipedia has a fairly good synopsis of this (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disruptive_technology).
Other than that, your discussion and comment about SharePoint challenges being cultural is dead on. Thanks for the post!!
//wm
Posted by: Wade McNair | September 08, 2008 at 11:37 AM