What Cloud technology and Lady Thatcher have in common (and why we all need more disruption in our lives)

Like most of us in the UK (and around the rest of the English speaking-world), like it or not, I’ve seen, heard and read a lot about Margaret Thatcher this week. It’s been somewhat unavoidable.

Any amateur observer of the press can tell you that there are few choice words being used to describe Britain’s first and only female Prime Minister that everyone seems to agree upon. Fierce. Unwavering. Brave. Feminist. My personal favourite by far, however, is Disruptor.

Disruption is change and "no-body likes change". Isn’t that how the saying goes? I’d suggest amending to "nobody like change unless it transpires that particular change works out in their favour" to get a more accurate reflection of the situation – but let’s not split hairs. Thatcher was about change in its rawest sense: radical, unrelenting, unforgiving change. Her end focus was simply to "get the job done", however painful the journey and whatever the price. Maybe that’s part of the reason why so many people seemingly disliked her policies at the time. Is it possible she just suffered the same inevitable "welcome" that all good disruptors do? (Sound familiar to any IT folks out there, as the "do we/don’t we?" debate around Cloud continues to be bandied around at every conference?)

Once in a generation, a major disruptor will come along and shake up everybody’s thinking. No industry is safe, and they come in all shapes and sizes. The disruptor is about innovation, energy and daring. The disruptor is aboutlooking 25 years down the line, whilst everyone else is busy focussing on the next 4 quarters…

Steve Jobs was a disruptor. Margaret Thatcher was a disruptor. Cloud Technology is a disruptor.

The disrupter’s job is to be misunderstood. To be feared. And dare I say, even, fiercely loathed by those whose lives will be permanently and radically affected if the disruptor’s plans take hold.

Does that mean the disruptor is a bad thing? Usually not. Will they win any popularity contests? Probably not, at least not to begin with. But disruptors aren’t in it for the short-haul. And they don’t care about making friends.

There’s a reason that Apple became the most valuable company in the world. There’s a reason that, on Thatcher’s watch, real wages rose in every UK income bracket (who wouldn’t take that now if it was offered?); and likewise, there’s a reason that Cloud technology is creeping into every CFO’s discussion with his GBS lead.

What the disruptors of this world do well is dust off the cobwebs and wake up the fusty old-timers in the corner. They generally cause a bit of a hoo-hah that gets everybody flustered, but when all is said and done they resolve to make the world a better place – however much their methods are disavowed by the masses.

And so, back to my initial question: what do Cloud and the First Lady of British Politics have in common? They are two of the greatest disruptors of our time, and neither is likely to be forgotten.

RIP Lady Thatcher. May you rest in peace, and in the knowledge that your disruptions have made the world a better place.

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What Cloud technology and Lady Thatcher have in common (and why we all need more disruption in our lives)

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