In the world of professional cleaning, skepticism is healthy. Many building service contractors (BSCs) and in-house service providers (ISPs) have watched the evolution of automation with cautious interest, waiting for the right moment to act. That moment is now.

Robotic floor cleaning has crossed organizational theorist, management consultant, and author Geoffrey Moore’s “chasm” and reached what best-selling author Malcolm Gladwell calls the “tipping point,” a moment of rapid, self-sustaining adoption.

Technology’s unstoppable momentum

What was once a novelty is now becoming an industry standard. To understand why, we must unpack the metaphor.

Moore’s “chasm” describes the perilous gap between early adopters, visionaries willing to try new technology, and the early majority, who require proof, reliability, and return on investment (ROI). Many technologies stall here.

But Gladwell’s “Tipping Point” offers a complementary lens: It’s the threshold when a product, trend, or behavior gains unstoppable momentum, “like a virus in a crowded room.” The two frameworks converge: Crossing the chasm is the hard-earned entry into the early majority; the tipping point is what follows when the floodgates open.

So, has robotic cleaning really tipped? Here’s the evidence:

Market behavior has shifted. In the latest ISSA Cleaning & Maintenance Management (CMM) In-House/Facility Management Benchmarking Survey Report, 43% of respondents reported plans to purchase autonomous cleaning equipment, a sharp increase that signals movement from experimentation to widespread adoption.

The environmental context has changed. Labor shortages are no longer a talking point; they have become structural. When 50% of front-line janitorial workers have less than a year of experience with wage rates greater than $17 and their rate continues to climb (again, according to the 2025 CMM In-House/Facility Management Benchmarking Survey Report), automation becomes a necessity, not a luxury.

The product is now “sticky.” Gladwell’s “Stickiness Factor” makes ideas and products memorable and compelling. The Stickiness Factor is alive in modern cleaning robots. Today’s machines are not only more reliable but also easier to deploy, integrate, and maintain. They’re visible to staff and tenants. They communicate data and work nights, weekends, and holidays. Most importantly, they work consistently.

Key influencers are advocating. Gladwell’s “Law of the Few” points to the outsized impact of connectors and salespeople. In the cleaning industry, this translates to large BSCs and Fortune 500 clients who are driving change. Facility executives aren’t just testing robots; they’re re-engineering operations around them.

Design thinking and data are closing the execution gap. Robotic cleaning has matured beyond the pilot stage due to improved design, enhanced training processes, and more precise data. As noted in the recent article entitled Strategic Execution in the ISSA Today July/August 2025 edition, execution isn’t about launching a project: It’s about embedding it in daily practice. The rise of software platforms, service plans, and user dashboards makes robotic cleaning easier to manage than ever before.

So, what’s next?

Industry leaders, until they weren’t

Most industries are no strangers to disruption. Just ask the executives at companies like:

• Blockbuster, which failed to recognize the inevitability of streaming, was erased by Netflix.
• BlackBerry and Nokia, who once dominated the mobile markets but dismissed the significance of touchscreens and app ecosystems.
• Kodak and Polaroid, who once owned photography but resisted digital cameras.
• RadioShack, which lost relevance by underestimating e-commerce and failing to adapt to shifting consumer habits.

These weren’t weak companies. They were industry leaders, until they weren’t.

In the book The Innovator’s Dilemma: When New Technologies Cause Great Firms to Fail, author Clayton Christensen warned of this: “Great companies can fail, not because they’re poorly run, but because they are too focused on optimizing current performance. That obsession blinds them to technologies that start small, seem less profitable, or look niche until they redefine the entire market.”

Embrace technology now

Autonomous cleaning has reached that redefinition moment. This is a strategic shift. The companies that embrace it early are already reaping compounding gains in efficiency, consistency, and customer value. These aren’t pilot programs anymore; they’re operational standards in airports, retail, healthcare, and education.

Crossing the chasm was never about everyone rushing in at once, but about knowing when the water was safe enough to jump in.

That time is now.

Jon Hill is the CEO of Cobotiq and provides business managers with information on how to create and implement profitability. He is a frequent speaker and presenter on the future impact of automation and technology in the cleaning industry.