Andy Jensen
I am sure you have heard that the only for-sure things in life are death and taxes. I durst not object to these items; however, I'd like to add the following to the list.
- Your teenage daughter will mouth off. Teenage girls are certain they know more than their parents. Much, much more. Therefore, at some point it is inevitable that they will attempt to verbalize this fact. And it won't be pretty.
- Your dishwasher will need repairs only after the warranty expires. I did a little back-of-the-envelope math, and I've calculated that during your adult lifetime you will own seven to eight dishwashers. All of these will either need to be repaired or replaced only after the warranty expires.
- Your redneck neighbor will not increase property values. You love him to death and think his chili is the best this side of Texas. However, the fact remains that his purple 1957 Chevy pickup on blocks across the street will not increase the value of your home.
- Your practice on the cloud is a step forward. Though your client-server software has served you well-just like X-ray film-time has passed it by. And so it's time for you, too, to move on. Here's why.
The Cloud is the Current Technology Standard
Every major software developer has shifted its resources away from client-server technology and has been steadfastly focused on the cloud for a few years now. All of their best developers are assigned to the cloud. They've turned their backs on client-server software. Of course, you can still buy client-server software, just like you can still buy film. But why would you choose software that is not a developer's top priority?
Moving from One Client-Server Software to Another is Lateral Thinking
In high school I played only one year of football. I was two inches over six feet, yet weighed less than 150 pounds. So I got pummeled every play. I remember coach yelling at us, "We gotta move the ball north and south, gentlemen! Running from one sideline to the other does not help us win!" Coach was awesome. He understood that progress was made by moving forward rather than laterally. Thus, if you're not moving your practice to the cloud, then you're not getting any closer to the goal line.
The Great Migration to the Cloud Already Started
In the mid-1990s the dental profession experienced its second technology migration, moving from DOS to Windows (the first migration was from paper to DOS). A recent survey revealed that the number of doctors moving to the cloud within the next three years represents more than half of all practicing doctors! Send me a note and I'll be happy to share the survey with you. That number means that if you're not thinking about the cloud, your colleague is.
The cloud is not so much a revolutionary thing-albeit I've called it that before. A better word for what's happening is "migration." All of us are cloud computing on a daily basis. We're socializing, shopping, trading, banking, dating, traveling, and communicating on the cloud. Simply put, dental professionals are just moving, or migrating, their use of the cloud to the office.
In short, there is no room for client-server software in the killer practice. Why? Because building the progressive practice-becoming the dental practice in town that everybody talks about-requires progressive thinking. Cloud-based dental software is a step in the right direction. Client-server software is a do-si-do at best.
Andy Jensen has more than 20 years of dental software experience. When he's not taking shots from his teenage daughters, he can be found directing marketing activities at Curve Dental, a developer of cloud-based dental software.
