Sep 2005
Bye, bye Treo and Palm
Friday - September 30, 2005 Filed in: Mobile | Consumer
Technology
On a regular basis entrepreneurs approach me with
jaw-dropping technology, wonderful to look at from an
innovation perspective but many times hard to
envision as a standalone sustainable profit center.
So what technology makes a successful company?
Technology is becoming a commodity. Think about it from a macro-economic perspective. Information technology is the instrumentation, not the differentiation of customer businesses. World's largest retailer, Walmart does not rely on technology to be successful, technology was barely available when Walmart started. Walmart built an effective business model and, in-house continuous to shape technology to support the business model. No packaged apps, or technology silos here.
Technology companies do become successful when their technology drives, usually with incremental improvements, the evolution in a marketplace. Google is successful because it optimized the online advertising business model and increased its effectiveness. It's all about market principles, not technology (BTW: which average user can tell the difference between Google and Yahoo! search). eBay is successful because it empowers free-market principles and supports true meritocracy in the sale of goods.
Bottom line:
1) Investigate de-funct, constricted or outdated markets and build technology that improves the effectiveness of those markets.
2) Find capital from investors that understand the market and appreciate technology, not the other way around.
Market principles are seldom wrong, the instrumentation often is.
Technology is becoming a commodity. Think about it from a macro-economic perspective. Information technology is the instrumentation, not the differentiation of customer businesses. World's largest retailer, Walmart does not rely on technology to be successful, technology was barely available when Walmart started. Walmart built an effective business model and, in-house continuous to shape technology to support the business model. No packaged apps, or technology silos here.
Technology companies do become successful when their technology drives, usually with incremental improvements, the evolution in a marketplace. Google is successful because it optimized the online advertising business model and increased its effectiveness. It's all about market principles, not technology (BTW: which average user can tell the difference between Google and Yahoo! search). eBay is successful because it empowers free-market principles and supports true meritocracy in the sale of goods.
Bottom line:
1) Investigate de-funct, constricted or outdated markets and build technology that improves the effectiveness of those markets.
2) Find capital from investors that understand the market and appreciate technology, not the other way around.
Market principles are seldom wrong, the instrumentation often is.
Great Technology = Great Company?
Friday - September 02, 2005 Filed in: Positioning
| Strategy
"Apple is going in a different direction than we want
to go." That is the statement from a long term Apple
customer (10+ years) we recently talked to. The Apple
Store in Palo Alto has recently been revamped to
where the iPod and its accessories seem to make up
the majority of the new store layout. Media software
has been tucked into a little corner in the back.
Enterprise software for Small and Medium Enterprises
(SME), like FileMaker Pro Server is virtually
non-existent, "you can get that online" was the
response from an Apple representative.
Did you know Apple is actually making more strides than ever in the enterprise business? Oracle, MySQL and a lot of other mission critical software now runs on OS X. Apple risks loosing SME foothold if it does not carefully balance advertising the iPod trojan horse with the reasons why it created the iPod, selling higher margin products. Enterprise software may not be bought in a retail store, but providing exposure and demo stations with enterprise and SME solutions are critical to changing a destructive perception. Or does Apple plan to open new Business Stores soon?
Did you know Apple is actually making more strides than ever in the enterprise business? Oracle, MySQL and a lot of other mission critical software now runs on OS X. Apple risks loosing SME foothold if it does not carefully balance advertising the iPod trojan horse with the reasons why it created the iPod, selling higher margin products. Enterprise software may not be bought in a retail store, but providing exposure and demo stations with enterprise and SME solutions are critical to changing a destructive perception. Or does Apple plan to open new Business Stores soon?