Welcome to the first installment of SWMS TrendSpot, an analysis series exclusively for PR strategic thinkers and business planners. Our mission: spot disruptive tech trends today that tech media will chase tomorrow.
Time and again, farsighted tech PR agencies profit by spotting disruption. For example, agencies who in 2009 spotted location-based services and marketing won big accounts. More important, they won the chance to educate media brands quick to chase the trend. Today those agencies enjoy the respect of hard-to-reach journalists, who ask themselves,“What will that agency spot next?”
In our SWMS TrendSpot debut, we examine the birth of virtual networking. Two start-ups share the pole position: Nicira and Big Switch. Both are commercializing OpenFlow, the open source protocol that lets users shape virtual networks the way VMware allowed users to shape virtual servers. OpenFlow will empower users to buy low-cost, commodity hardware for their networking
needs. This trend threatens Cisco, Juniper and any incumbent whose business model depends on premium pricing for switches and routers.
Trade and business media will track this trend next year. Trades will chase it on behalf of buyers; business media will smell the blood on the marketplace floor.
Included: 3 tables of potential editorial targets, vetted by coverage focus and technical acumen
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Silicon Valley tech edit events – TechCrunch Disrupt, DEMO, Web 2.0 – tend to focus on the tech. Fast Company’s