We are very excited to introduce this week’s Friday Feature— @DeletedUser2246. Loryan recently started his own consultancy, The Cloud Mouth, aimed at helping companies through their cloud transformations. He has received 6 MVP Awards in Office Servers and Services.
Tell us a little bit about who you work for and your role in the organization.
I've recently upgraded The Cloud Mouth from being my persona to a bona fide consultancy. I work with customers to determine their Office 365 strategy either pre or post sale, especially for those who have only deployed basic workloads like Exchange Online or OneDrive for Business. My goal is to achieve true productivity transformations for organisations and users.
What’s the most rewarding part of a cloud transformation?
Seeing users improve their day to day work lives is the most rewarding aspect of a cloud transformation. People have gotten so used to the way they work for so many years that change is frightening, but seeing how they become more productive and collaborative across a variety of little or large ways is really enjoyable.
How do you handle the skeptics/’sticks in the mud’? Can you share any best practices for encouraging end-user adoption?
I view all users on a spectrum. You can’t please everyone all the time, so my best practice is to identify the range of the spectrum and to work to getting the change to only be 20-30% away from those who are sticks in the mud. From there we’ve covered most users, and those that are hardest to change have less ground to cover.
The main way I work to influence the skeptics to change is to find at least one or two little things that annoy them and make it better. Even if it’s cutting down a few clicks or speeding up a process, that creates a win and opens them up to the possibility of more improvements. My aim is to make everyone a “raving fan”.
What resources do you use the most to stay up to date? How do you keep up with new technologies and updates?
My morning routine involves reading through a plethora of blogs in my aggregator service Feedly. A lot I will skip over as I may already know them, but I do read a lot. Luckily I’m a speed reader so that cuts down the time to consume content. Usually when I first sit down at my computer my “work” morning routine involves trawling through Tech Community and various Yammer networks. Beyond that if I need to attend a webinar or watch videos I’ll carve out some time through the day, get cosy on the couch and set myself to Do Not Disturb. I find the content on http://reoffice365.com a great way to keep up to date from though leaders in the field. :smiling_face_with_smiling_eyes:
IT Pro Communities are highly engaged and seem to play a large role in IT Pros careers. Can you share how these communities have helped your career and your motivation for keeping up with your own blog and giving back to the community?
I’ve been using communities since the early days of the Internet, be it IRC or bulletin boards. It’s been a great way to find experts and tips & tricks that you may not find elsewhere. Since the early days of BPOS I have been actively involved in the community and it’s actually that community I thank for nominating and supporting me in becoming a MVP.
I’m a big believer in community and people helping each other out, so that powers me to keep sharing knowledge and content with those who choose to follow and engage with me.
What’s the most interesting thing about you that we wouldn’t learn from your resume alone?
I used to be an avid hiker, mountain climber, have long hair, and frequently enjoy mosh pits. :smiling_face_with_smiling_eyes:
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